Kent and Sussex MPs lobby rail regulator for more Channel Tunnel operators

A group of local Labour MPs have urged the rail regulator to allow other train operators to use the Channel Tunnel so international services can resume in Kent.

The group delivered a letter to Fiona Gillon, the chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in London yesterday, setting out the benefits of competiton to Eurostar.

They claim it could boost the Kent economy by £2.7bn over five years and attract 500,000 extra visitors, giving an extra employment boost to the hospitality, retail and transport sectors.

The MPs, five from Kent and one from Sussex, are asking the ORR for other operators to be given access to the Temple Mills International Depot in Leyton, east London.

The site, currently run by Eurostar, is important because it is the only place where Channel Tunnel trains can be serviced.

The ORR due to decide in October if the train operators will be allowed access.

The MPs' letter was signed by (pictured left to right) Jim Dickson (Dartford), Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye), Sojan Joseph (Ashford), Polly Billington, Tony Vaughan (Folkestone & Hythe). Not pictured is fellow signatory Rochester & Strood's Lauren Edwards.

Eurostar suspened the Ashford stop duing the pandemic.

The MPs hope an operator like Virgin will be interested in being allowed to run through Kent.

Ashford MP Sojan Joseph, a vocal campaigner to restore the service, said: "I am asking the ORR to make a decsion on social, economical and environmental factors so that my constituents do not have to travel to St Pancras just to make the journey back."

He said that other operators must be allowed to use the Temple Mills capacity and offer competition.

Hasting and Rye MP Helena Dollimore said: "It means more jobs, it means more visitors, and means more opportunities for young people growing up in Hasting and Rye. We really miss the services we used to have at Ashford and we want to bring them back."

The ORR concedes there is a "growing appetite" to provide international rail services and promises to "work quickly" to determine the best use of capacity at Temple Mills.