A Eurostar boss has said bringing his trains back to Kent “doesn’t make sense right now” due to the huge amount of investment needed.

International rail travel has been absent from Ashford and Ebbsfleet since the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, leading to campaigning from residents and MPs.

In an interview with Business Traveller, the chief commercial officer (CCO) of Eurostar, François Le Doze, revealed why reinstating services in the county is still not on the table.

When asked what the challenges for reinstating the route are, he revealed a lack of traveller numbers compared to London stations as part of the reason.

“The biggest reason is resources,” he explained.

“We’d have to take resources from key stations like St Pancras, which, at its peak time, takes up to 22,000 people a day.

“On average, it’s 11,000-16,000 passengers per day.

“We’ve also invested €10 million on the EU’s new Entry/Exit system (EES) for border crossings, and would need to invest a huge amount into installing new kiosks and training staff up for this location, which doesn’t make sense right now.”

Despite repeated calls for Eurostar to return, the company confirmed it will not happen this year, a move which continues to frustrate Kent passengers.

Last month, five Labour MPs met with the minister for rail, Lord Hendy, to see what steps the government is taking to see the return of train travel to the continent for foot passengers.

It was described as “promising”, and the Department for Transport stated it would support measures to allow other companies to access the line in Eurostar’s place.

In January, Sir Richard Branson unveiled plans for Virgin to operate along the route.

When asked about the potential new rival, Mr Le Doze said: “There’s a lot of appetite and investment going into high-speed train travel. This is a great sign for the industry.

“It means that people are really keen on travelling by train and making sustainable choices regarding how they travel.

“We welcome competition – it keeps us on our toes and challenges us to improve the service.

“Eurostar will have to be different. We’ve been here for a long time, have the expertise, and know the market well.

“It’s about how we keep reinventing ourselves and investing in that customer experience.”

In September 2023, Gareth Williams, Eurostar’s general secretary, said the firm wants to bring its services back to Kent - but the impact of Brexit and "hundreds of millions" of pounds of Covid debt means it cannot yet afford to.

Later that year, a petition was started to see it return, which has amassed more than 60,700 signatures.