Kent County Council has joined local councils, MPs, and business groups to support the potential return of international rail services to Ashford and Ebbsfleet.
The collaboration was formalised in a memorandum of understanding signed on 26 September 2025.
Eurostar services have been suspended since March 2020, and interest from four new operators has emerged. The Office of Rail and Road is expected to make a decision in October on access to the UK’s only international rail depot, a key step for re-establishing services.
Economic analysis by the Good Growth Foundation suggests that restoring services could attract up to?493,000 new visitors, generate?£315m in spending, and bring as much as?£2.67bn into the UK economy over five years.
Kent CC Leader Linden Kemkaran commented: ‘Kent’s residents and businesses have waited long enough. The infrastructure is here, the demand is real, and the benefits are huge – thousands of jobs, stronger trade, and hundreds of millions for our economy.’
Cllr Noel Ovenden, leader of Ashford Council, said: 'Delivering on international services by re-opening this gateway to Europe holds the key to unlocking the benefits of that investment, not just in Ashford, but for the whole of Kent, wider South East region and the UK economy.'
