Can international rail return to Kent?
Plus Canterbury improvement schemes, news in brief, letters, and more.
Back in the heady days of 2019, you could get on a train in Kent that raced you through the Channel Tunnel and into mainland Europe. We know, it almost feels hard to believe now, as our international stations sit chronically underused. Now, with access to the route opening up to other operators, could international rail services return to our county? We look at the prospects below. Further down, we have news of a number of things happening in Canterbury from a third effort to improve the Westgate Towers area to a phallic-shaped fountain. Those stories, news in brief, and lots more, below.
Can international rail return to Kent?
It’s been five years Eurostar trains stopped in Kent, and we seem no closer to them returning. However, could recent changes to make competition on the Channel Tunnel route result in international travel returning to the county once again?
Kent is home to two stations with the ‘International’ suffix, namely Ashford and Ebbsfleet, though neither have lived up to their name since the start of the pandemic. As the world shut down, so did international services from those stations, yet with almost everything back to normal, there’s been no return of cross-Channel services that stop in Kent.
This has inevitably had knock-on effects on Kent's economy and undermines the principle of the supposedly international stations in the county. These stations cost around £180m to develop for international rail, and are now used purely for domestic services. As .a result, our ‘international’ stations are hugely underused, with Ashford having less passengers than Tonbridge with around 3.5m each year. At the other end of the county, the vast six-platform complex at Ebbsfleet is used by roughly the same number of passengers as a station like Rochester.
This means that journey times from Kent to Brussels have tripled from 90 minutes to four and a half hours, and created an absurd scenario where a passenger from Ashford has to travel on the same high speed tracks up to London, only to turn around and come back again to go through the Channel Tunnel. Perhaps most gallingly, it also means the cost is roughly 50% higher given the ludicrous rail fares between Kent and London.
Perhaps the worst part of this is that there seems to be little that can be done to change things. The government wants the services to return to Kent, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer voicing his support in parliament earlier this year. Local MPs want the services back. Kent County Council want them back. District councils want them back. Visit Kent wants them back. Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce want them back. A campaign group, Bring Back Euro Trains, wants them back. 65,000 people have signed a petition calling for them to return.
None of this seems to move Eurostar, the sole operator of services on the route, though. They argue that pre-pandemic, less than 5% of passengers on cross-Channel services travelled from the Kent stations, and that while journeys from St Pancras grew 20% in the ten years to 2019, there was no growth in Kent. They have pledged to review the position again next year, but it seems unlikely they will change their mind unless they are heavily incentivised to do so.
Indeed, this seems to reflect a general withdrawal of Eurostar services on both sides of the channel. In 2019, Eurostar services ran to Marseille, Lyon, Calais, and even Disneyland Paris. Now, the only stops in France are Paris and Lille, and journeys further are limited to Brussels, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam.
With Eurostar pulling back their international ambitions, the main hope for services returning to Kent seems to lie with other operators, who are being encouraged to break Eurostar’s monopoly with discounted track fees and additional benefits if they agree to serve the Kent stations.
Suddenly, after three decades of a Eurostar monopoly, at least four other operators are pushing to introduce new rail services on the route, though not all of them would stop in Kent.
Spanish consortium Evolyn were first out of the blocks, laying out plans in 2023 to run direct London to Paris trains on the line, intending to start services this year. However, more recent plans suggest a start date of 2028 is more feasible.
Dutch firm Huero is planning London to Amsterdam services in the same time period. An operator called Gemini wants to run services between London, Paris, and Brussels. German operator Deutsche Bahn is interested in launching services from London to, unsurprisingly, Germany.
Perhaps the most advanced plan comes from Virgin Group, who now claim there are ‘no more major hurdles to overcome’ regarding their entry into international rail. The firm is initially looking at Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam as destinations, demonstrating that getting new destinations off the ground appears risky for new entrants.
So perhaps the most intriguing prospect came earlier this month, when Italian state operator Trentalia entered the fray. While their initial plan to run services between London and Paris, they are also pondering more further afield destinations like Milan and returning services to Marseille and, most relevantly to us, Ashford.
None of these new services, whether they stop in Kent or not, will be easy to deliver, as the excellent Jonn Elledge set out this week in the Guardian. Could a direct train between Kent and Milan be on the cards? It feels unlikely, but it’s nice to dream, isn’t it?
It’s all going on in Canterbury
Work is set to get underway this week in Canterbury to remodel the area around Westgate Towers, which has gone very well in the past, with previous schemes in 2012 and 2020 being attempted and removed relatively quickly. No one has been able to find a solution for traffic in the area, which is perhaps unsurprising when the main route through it involves vehicles, including double decker buses, passing through a 14th century tower.
On 22 April, a new 12 month £1.5m works scheme will be put in place in the area, but it still won’t save the underlying issue of unsuitable vehicles being forced through a historic building. Instead, the plans this time are a bit more modest, focusing on the area's public realm to facilitate safer movements, less car dominance, and a public space that can host events.
Ironically, the project to reduce car dominance in a key corridor in the city comes as the council will formally move next week to reduce the park and ride provision from all three sites. While passenger numbers have improved over the past year, usage remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, with Sturry Road in particular running at barely half the previous numbers.
As a result, Canterbury City Council are proposing to reduce the number of buses serving the Sturry Road site from three to two, increasing the interval between buses on the site from 10 to 15 minutes. Elsewhere, the council proposes reducing the size of the buses across all three sites, with Sturry Road being reduced to only small, hopper buses, and New Dover Road and Wincheap being served only by single deckers. According to council documents, this will save roughly £126,000 per year, which doesn’t quite cover the £30,000 that the service loses each month, but it gets some way there.
Elsewhere in the city, there are plans to regenerate an ‘eyesore’ square on the High Street, though we defy you to find much difference in the £200,000 refurbishment beyond a piece of art on a wall and removing a wall that teenagers like to sit on.
Finally, the Sun has taken great delight that the Rotary Club is installing a drinking fountain on the High Street that apparently looks like a penis.
Tell us about your election candidates
Next week, we’ll be publishing our big look at the candidates standing in Kent’s upcoming local elections. It’s been a big task, trawling through data on over 400 candidates, so it’s inevitable we might have missed something. If you have local knowledge or a story about any candidates standing in your area, you can inform us confidentially via hello AT kentcurrent DOT news.
In brief
🚧 Friend of the Kent Current James O’Malley has written a brilliant piece on the Swanscombe Hole, which has cut off one of the main roads connecting Swanscombe, Ebbsfleet, and Gravesend for two years. It’s a great piece that cuts right to the heart of why no one seems able to fix it, and is very annoying because we were also prepping our own long read on the same subject.
🏗️ Officers have recommended that Dover District Council approve a new development of up to 430 new homes in Whitfield. The move comes despite objections from Whitfield Parish Council, 34 members of the public, and concerns being raised by Kent County Council.
🏘️ Dartford Borough Council is set to acquire the leases of 139 new homes for temporary accommodation. It comes as councils across the region struggle to place families requiring temporary housing amid spiralling costs in the sector.
💷 A blogger has objected to Thanet District Council’s annual accounts to get a payout to its former Chief Executive ruled as ‘unlawful expenditure.’
🚉 Herne Bay rail station has received a £6m upgrade to improve accessibility. The works have seen a new bridge and lifts installed at the station.
⛴️ The former headquarters of P&O in Dover are up for sale. If you’ve got £4.5m, the vast complex overlooking Dover Marina could be yours.
☀️ Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat is fighting to stop a solar farm development near New Ash Green that would power over 17,000 homes yearly.
🌳 Kent Wildlife Trust are trying to raise £500,000 to purchase Hoathly Farm near Lamberhurst. The 613-acre site would allow the organisation to create a new wilding corridor between Kent and Sussex.
🍞 Margate bakery Speciality Breads are set to move to a new £20m ‘bread campus’ at Manston. A new solar farm will power the complex, allowing the company to quadruple production.
🏜️ The Guardian has written about ‘the ghostly allure of Dungerness.’
Letters
We’re already starting to get some great responses to our pieces from readers, and we’d like to open up a platform for that discussion during these editions themselves.
Our Lower Thames Crossing feature last week elicited some conversation via email and in the comments section:
Your article on winners and losers is misjudged. I do not believe that there are any winners over the decision to go ahead with the Lower Thames Crossing. Certainly not Medway. There will be a considerable increase in road traffic coming into Kent and much of this will be on the A2 and roads linked to the A2 This will make traffic through the Medway Towns even worse than it is now. The proposed development at Bluebell Hill is but a foretaste of subsequent road building that will be necessary as a result of this decision. The whole project is based on a false assumption that in 20 years time it will be a viable proposition to rely on road transport. The necessary materials, rare earths and metals do not exist in sufficient quantity. The future of transport must be on rail for freight and an integrated public transport system for people. Any other solution is simply a mirage which will make life more difficult for everyone. - Ralph Tebbutt
Re Lower Thames Crossing Winners and Losers - it is easy to think of 'Medway' as miles away from the project site, but Strood is next door. The roads for the massive new interchange begin at the M2/A2 junction - Strood West ward and close to Strood North & Frindsbury. Personally I feel the pain of Gravesham more than the delight of Medway... - Steve Dyke
We’d love to keep doing this, so if you’ve got any thoughts on what we’re publishing or want to share your views on issues in Kent, please get in touch. Paid supporters can comment on our articles, and everyone can email hello AT kentcurrent DOT news. Please make it clear when emailing if you’re happy for your views to be published.
More Currents
With local elections looming in Kent, over the weekend we sat down with leaders of the five parties standing across the county. Each set out their priorities for the county, their thoughts on the upcoming devolution and local government reorganisation, and what success might look like for each of them on election night:
Coming up later this week, in a dramatic tonal shift, will be our first arts and culture briefing edition for Kent. In it, we’ll be talking to Sam Cox, also known as Mr Doodle, about his work, which the Guardian has described as ‘stepping into a migraine’. We’ll also talk to Westminster power player and Kent resident James O’Malley about his new podcast, tackling our first food review, and much more.
Footnotes
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