At the moment, if you want to get from the UK to Europe by train (and you aren’t in your own vehicle), the only option is to go on the Eurostar from St Pancras International in London.
Eurostar trains used to make stops in Kent, but service was halted in 2020. Services stopped operating at Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International because of the coronavirus pandemic, but they never returned when international travel did.
Earlier this year, Eurostar said just 4% of passengers travelled from Ashford, or Ebbsfleet, which is also in Kent. At peak times, it says there were 50 passengers from Ashford on each 900-seat train.
That hasn’t stopped the Kentish people from expressing their dismay at the scrapped service. Around 80,000 of them have signed a petition to get their European link back. Jean-Claude Cothias, a Frenchman who moved to Ashford due to its connections with the Continent, has even considered leaving the town now that Eurostar doesn’t stop there.
“That connection, if it’s not there, it is hugely detrimental to the economic environment in the town and to its attractiveness,” he told the BBC.
It seems that their protests have worked. Italian operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane has expressed interest in running trains between London and Paris with a stop in the southeastern county.