Eurostar is to bring back a direct service from Ashford International to Brussels later this year.

The company said it had recorded a 30 per cent increase in traveller numbers on the route since the introduction of the new High Speed One route, which saw the opening of Ebbsfleet International and the revamped St Pancras last year.

The announcement is welcome news for Ashford and east Kent and is likely to prompt renewed calls for the high speed operator to consider restoring some of the direct services it axed from Ashford International to Paris.

Listen:Simon Montague, Director of Communications at Eurostar, talks about why the service is to return >>>

Kent County Council leader Cllr Paul Carter has welcomed the news.

He said:“Eurostar’s continuing growth and their confidence in establishing good connections from Ashford to Brussels is good news for business and for tourism in Kent.

“We have worked closely with Ashford leaders, Kent MPs and the tourism and business communities to achieve this very positive result.

“From 2009, the combination of fast domestic and international services give Ashford a real opportunity for serious economic growth as we showcase Kent to the world in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.”

Listen: Ashford's MP Damien Green speaks to kmfm's Antony Masters about the return of the service >>>

Eurostar said it had no plans to increase the three direct trains to Paris at present but did reveal it was encouraged by the increase in numbers travelling to Paris.

The new daily direct service, which is expected to make a loss initially, will begin in December when the new international rail timetable changes. Eurostar said it had been able to ressurrect the direct service to Brussels because the 30 per cent increase in passengers was significantly more than it had expected.

In a statement, the company said the extra demand meant that an eleventh daily service was commercially viable.

Chief executive Richard Brown said: "I am delighted at the big increase in travellers on our London-Brussels route. Although we think the direct Ashford-Brussels service will be loss-making initially, we are prepared to take a risk and see if it is possible to build up sufficient demand to make it commercially viable. There have been calls for a direct service between Ashford and Brussels. Now we hope travellers will show they value it and will use it."

The original decision to axe the service to Brussels had angered many commuters and businesses in the area who complained it would be more inconvenient to travel from Ebbsfleet.

The service will be timetabled to allow business travellers to reach Brussels before 9am and weekly commuters will also now be able to return to Brussels on a Sunday evening.

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