Rail boss calls for Eurostar support

Rail chief says operator must get support

Eurostar must receive government help to “bounce back” and protect 3,500 jobs in Kent, a railways boss has said.

HS1’s chief executive, Dyan Crowther, who has worked in the rail industry for more than 30 years, has been pressing the Conservative administration for financial support for the international train operator amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Eurostar pumps about £340m into the Kent tourism economy and £2bn into the UK, but bosses have been forced to shut down services at Ebbsfleet and Ashford International until at least 2022 due to a huge drop in demand.

Ms Crowther, whose company works closely with the rail firm, said: “Eurostar has seen passenger numbers fall off a cliff almost overnight.”

High-Speed 1 Ltd is an “infrastructure manager” which oper

ates and maintains Ashford, Ebbsfleet, Stratford and London St Pancras international stations on the 68-mile route from England’s capital to the Channel Tunnel. The firm sells train slots to Eurostar.

HS1 would normally be expected to hold up to 17,000 slots a year for Eurostar, but the number is likely to drop sharply to around 2,500 over a 12-month period due to stringent quarantine rules as a Covid vaccine is sought.

Three Kent MPs have secured an important meeting with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to discuss measures to protect Eurostar’s future in the county.

Anxious Kent county councillors, whose authority used public funds to pay for infrastructure improvements at Ashford station, said two weeks ago that they feared the firm “may never stop again” in Kent.

HS1’s chief executive said: “I hope Eurostar reopen their services at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International, but they are going to need help to get the bounce back that they so desperately need.

“They can only run the services that they can currently afford. That’s the reality of the situation.”

She has called for a “tripartite” agreement to be reached by the government, HS1 and Eurostar.

Ms Crowther said: “We need some real solutions for the long term, not just something for the next six months.”

Eurostar’s Ashford and Ebbsfleet services will not return until at least 2022, meaning Kent passengers face a trip to London St Pancras before crossing The Channel

HS1 chief executive Dyan Crowther is calling for action