Sir Richard Branson has been urged to rethink his plan to run trains through the Channel Tunnel, after the rail minister said rival bids to Eurostar must commit to serving Kent and east London stations.
Virgin Group is one of several operators hoping to break Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly on the route, but Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill warned that proposals focused solely on London St Pancras risk falling short.
Speaking at an event in Ashford, Kent, Lord Hendy said bidders must show “the potential for services to be reinstated” at Stratford International, Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations – a move he said could add £500m a year to the visitor economy.
Eurostar dropped calls at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in 2020 and has never served Stratford, but border facilities remain in place at the Kent stations.
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