The decision to end Eurostar’s monopoly on cross-Channel rail shows that Britain is serious about growth (Virgin Trains on track to challenge Eurostar cross-Channel monopoly with access to key depot, 30 October).
Far from just being an inter‑city triumph, allowing Virgin Trains to run rival international rail services brings with it the possibility of reopening the abandoned Ashford International terminal. Opened with £80m of investment, it has been a ghost terminal since Eurostar stopped trains there in 2020.
Gathering dust, it has been a symbol of a country that had turned inwards, leaving businesses, tourism and people on the south coast poorer. Research from the Good Growth Foundation shows reopening it would boost our local economy by up to £2.7bn.
Sir Richard Branson is known as one of Britain’s best disruptors. What better way to continue this legacy than restoring international trains to Ashford? I urge him to seize this opportunity and reconnect our communities with our closest European neighbours.
Helena Dollimore MP
Labour, Hastings and Rye
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