Residents and businesses urged to help build the case for international trains to return

Ashford Borough Council is urging residents, businesses, commuters and visitors to take part in a new passenger demand survey to help strengthen the case for international rail services to return to Kent.

The survey, launched by the Bring Back Euro Trains campaign, asks people how they would use direct international services from Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International if they were restored, including where they would travel, how often they would use the service, and why access from Kent matters to them.

Ashford Borough Council has continued to play an active role in the campaign to restore international rail services to Kent, working with partners across the county, MPs, rail industry contacts and the Bring Back Euro Trains campaign group to keep the case for Ashford International firmly on the agenda.

The council has supported the public petition, helped promote the campaign through its channels, worked with Kent partners on the public interest case, created the Ashford International Station Prospectus, and continued to make the point that the infrastructure is already here, the demand is proven, and the opportunity for residents, businesses, visitors and the wider southeast is significant.

Compelling Case

• Forecasts suggest Ashford could serve between 350,000 and 600,000 international passengers in year one, potentially rising to more than 750,000 a year by 2040.
• More than five million people live within a two-hour drive of Ashford International, placing the station at the heart of a large, underserved catchment.
• Ashford International previously recorded more than 600,000 international passengers a year, demonstrating proven demand for services from Kent.
• The station has around 1,800 parking spaces and international platforms capable of supporting up to 850 passengers per train.
• Previous campaign evidence has estimated that restoring services could save residents and businesses around £16.5 million a year in additional travel costs.
• The Good Growth Foundation has suggested restoring services to Kent stations could inject around £534 million a year into the visitor economy.

The new survey is an important next step because it moves the campaign from demonstrating support in principle to gathering practical evidence of the journeys people would actually make. 

That evidence will help strengthen the commercial case to current and future operators and demonstrate the demand from residents, businesses, commuters, leisure travellers and visitors.

Cllr Noel Ovenden, Leader of Ashford Borough Council, said: “This is about much more than convenience. Restoring international rail services to Ashford would reconnect our borough to Europe, unlock growth, support our visitor economy, help local businesses and give people across Kent and the wider southeast a greener and easier way to travel.

“Ashford International is a ready-made platform for growth. The infrastructure is here, the demand has been proven, and the benefits would be felt well beyond the borough boundary. What we need now is clear, up-to-date evidence showing how people and businesses would use these services if they returned.

“Every survey response helps us keep pressure on decision-makers and operators. If you want to see international trains stopping in Kent again, please take a few minutes to register your demand and help us make the strongest possible case.”

Residents, businesses, community groups, parish councils and visitors are encouraged to complete the survey and share it through their own networks. The survey is available via the Bring Back Euro Trains website.