Margate, Maidstone and London: those are the most exotic destinations accessible from Ashford International station currently. And partly due to Brexit, there is no prospect of trains to Paris, Lille and Brussels being reestablished any time soon.
Eurostar, which runs passenger trains between London St Pancras International and Continental Europe, has revealed it will not re-open Ashford International, or its other Kent Station, Ebbsfleet International, in 2023 as had been hoped. The train operator added: “We cannot make any commitment for another two to three years.”
It follows that 2025 is the earliest that either station can expect to be on the international route network.
Both stations are on High Speed 1, the main line from London to the Channel Tunnel. Ebbsfleet, close to the M25 in north Kent, was specifically constructed as a “park and ride” location for travellers heading for the Continent.
Ashford station was remodelled at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds to accommodate international services.
They closed very shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Eurostar blames “an uncertain and fragile environment” following the coronavirus pandemic for their continued closure.
In a statement, the company told The Independent: “Our recovery is progressing well, but we have considerable financial commitments following the pandemic which we will continue to face for a number of years.
“We must focus on our most profitable inter-capital routes to enable us to meet our financial commitments, stabilise our operation and our customer experience, before considering any further developments.”
But Eurostar also points to added broader complexity as a result of Brexit, saying: “Our border environment has also toughened post Brexit, and further complexity is expected with the launch of the EU’s Entry Exit System.”
The Brexit agreement negotiated by the UK government requires British travellers to be treated as third-country nationals, facing additional barriers on entry to the European Union.
Instead of simply checking travel documents for validity, frontier officials must stamp all passports – and, theoretically at least, interview the traveller about their intentions, financial resources and onward travel plans.
The Entry Exit System, which is due to come into operation from November 2023, is designed to facilitate such checks. It is an automated IT system for registering travellers from outside the EU and Schengen area.
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