Get on board the campaign

International trains continue to pass through Kent, but passengers cannot currently board them at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International.

For residents, businesses and visitors, this means longer journeys, additional costs and a missed opportunity to use existing international rail infrastructure.

The campaign has moved beyond demonstrating support in principle. More than 80,000 petition signatures show the depth of public feeling, while over 20,000 survey responses provide practical evidence about destinations, likely journeys and potential passenger demand.

Together, they show how passionately people across Kent feel about restoring international rail services.

This is an important distinction for operators. A petition demonstrates public support; the demand survey helps identify a potential market. As operators consider future cross-Channel services, robust evidence of people who are ready to travel could help tip the balance in favour of calls at Ashford and Ebbsfleet.

There is growing competitive interest in UK-to-Europe rail. The Office of Rail and Road granted Virgin Trains access to Temple Mills International Depot in October 2025, and Kent partners have highlighted interest from multiple prospective operators.

FS/Trenitalia has also publicly proposed an Ashford stop as part of planned London-Paris services. This does not guarantee services, but it strengthens the case for putting Kent’s demand clearly in front of operators while plans are being developed.

The council’s message is clear: Kent has the infrastructure, a passionate public campaign and a growing body of passenger evidence. This fresh push could make the opportunity difficult for operators to overlook.

Here are three simple ways you can get on board our campaign:

1. Complete the survey

Join over 20,000 people who have already given their views.

Please complete the survey yourself, if you have not already, and encourage anyone who would use direct international rail services from or to Kent to add the journeys they would make. Every additional response strengthens the evidence and helps show operators why calls at Ashford and Ebbsfleet could make commercial sense.

2. Share the campaign assets

We have created a set of ready-to-use campaign assets to make it easy for you to support the final push. You can locate these further down the page - all you have to do is right click and save over what you want/need. Please use and share them through any channels available to you, including:

Your social media channels, website and email newsletters.
Messages to customers, members, suppliers and business contacts.
Staff emails, intranets and internal newsletters.
Reception areas, visitor information points and digital screens.
Your wider tourism, hospitality and business networks.

3. Provide a quote from your organisation.

Tell us why the return of international rail services would make such a difference to your organisation. Provide a supportive statement which could be used as part of our campaign or shared with the media to showcase why it would mean so much to Ashford’s businesses and local economy.

Send your quote or story to media@ashford.gov.uk.