00:00It was an unusual birthday party for Ashford International, with no international trains
00:07actually stopping by for the celebrations.
00:11International services have not stopped in Kent since 2020 during the pandemic.
00:17This 30th anniversary event behind me is designed to build support amongst business
00:23leaders and politicians to try and bring those services back for good.
00:29We have representatives from every part of Kent, we've got representatives from government,
00:33we've got representatives from the operators. We have all of the pieces of the puzzle that are
00:38here in this room today that can put Ashford back on the international rail map.
00:44One group in attendance is Virgin, who now have the depot space needed to launch their own
00:51international services in the future. Their representatives didn't want to speak to us at
00:57the event, but they have previously said they're open to services stopping in the county if Ashford
01:04or EBS Fleet International reopened. Something that would require the help of the government
01:10and other partners to actually happen.
01:14Following Brexit, we have to have a border check, so there needs to be working with the French
01:19government. So that's the work we need from the government. Money, yes. Treasury. I had a conversation
01:26with the Chancellor, so there's a commitment from the Treasury as well. We may need some investment
01:31here. So that's what the commitment is and the government is fully committed to remove any barriers.
01:38More than 82,000 people have called for the return of services, with those trying to bring services back,
01:46saying it could inject millions of pounds into the local economy. There is very significant demand.
01:53Our own studies show that there is a prospect of high-speed rail tripling between now and 2040.
02:00The other thing is, of course, we have the capacity available on the high-speed line. That capacity is
02:06available now. There's 50% of the line which is available. Eurostar told us that their Kent stations will
02:14remain closed, but confidence appears to be building that international rail could soon be back on track
02:22for Kent's ollie leader in Ashford.
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