East Kent’s Thanet Tories have today (Thursday 31st July) welcomed the Eurostar management decision to reinstate the London-Ashford-Brussels service.

In a joint statement Roger Gale and Laura Sandys have said:

"This is a welcome reversal of a bad decision and is a step towards honouring the original Channel Tunnel undertakings that East Kent would benefit directly from the trans-European rail service.

Since the Ashford service was withdrawn we have faced the ludicrous situation of travellers from Thanet having to travel miles by car or tortuous rail journey in the wrong direction just to pick up a train at an Ebbsfleet station that nobody in East Kent wants to use.

This should also mean, with the advent of the long-overdue fast link to London, that Thanet passengers will be able to make an easier connection, via Ashford, to mainland Europe."

Roger Gale adds:

"At the time of the withdrawal of the service we lobbied hard with Ashford’s MP, Damian Green, for the decision to be changed and we have gone on lobbying Ministers and Eurostar ever since.  I am very pleased that the Company’s management have finally seen the commercial and political sense of using Ashford as the key rail hub for East Kent.  It is a very significant change."

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