No Eurostar return until 2022

Ashford will remain disconnected from Europe’s highspeed rail network despite a rise in passenger numbers as travel restrictions are eased.

Eurostar says it has no immediate plans to reintroduce direct services from either Ashford or Ebbsfleet even though demand for international journeys is now increasing post-lockdown.

The county’s two international stations, linked to the continent via HS1 and the Channel Tunnel, can not expect Eurostar trains to call until 2022 at the earliest.

Bookings on the companies services from London to destinations in Europe have doubled in August, leading to an additional 39 trains being run.

Next month the firm plans to operate five daily returns between London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord and three daily returns on the route between the capital and Brussels Midi.

The decision to suspend direct services from Kent stations until next year was first announced in September last year, with Eurostar saying it had “not taken this decision lightly”.

“We have experienced an unprecedented fall in demand, with bookings down by 90% compared to last year,” a spokesman said.

“In 2021, therefore, we will reduce our timetable focusing only on our core routes and destinations where we see the highest demand.”

Before Covid-19 hit, up to two daily services to Paris and one to Brussels ran from Ashford.

Eurostar promotes its services as the most environmentally-friendly choice for travel to Europe, with each journey using up to 93% less CO2 than the equivalent flight.

Despite post-lockdown demand, Eurostar says its Kent services will not be restored until next year at the earliest