The fight to keep Ashford International's Eurostar service
In 2006, Eurostar announced that they were planning to end direct high speed train services from Ashford in Kent to the continent.
They planned instead for the trains to stop only in Ebbsfleet, near Dartford, where they were building an enormous new international station.
Sharon immediately launched a campaign to save the Ashford services, which are used by people across Kent and Sussex.
Setting up www.saveashfordinternational.org.uk (which is now offline) she argued that there was no need to end Ashford's international service and instead it would serve all pasengers better to run services from BOTH Ebbsfleet and Ashford, with possibly alterating trains stopping at each station.
Her website attracted hundreds of comments from south east residents who wanted to fight the planned cuts.
Sharon teamed up with these local residents. She heard how many people had moved to Ashford specifically because of the direct international trains. Sharon was contacted by people who would lose their jobs or be forced to move if they could no longer commute to Europe on a daily basis.
Most of all, the residents of Ashford and the surrounding areas of Kent had put up with years of construction and disruption with the building of the Channel Tunnel, and had always been told the pay-off would be the new services they could access from the heart of Kent. Seeing these brought to an end would have been a cruel betrayal of the promises made to Kent residents. Sharon warmly welcomed the investment into the Ebbsfleet area, but saw no reason for this to be at Ashford's expense.
Success!
Together with local residents, Sharon raised a petition of more than 15,000 signatures, which she then presented to Downing Street along with other campaigners. This brought pressure onto Eurostar from the government and in the end, Eurostar relented.
They agreed to maintain a reduced, but direct, service running from Ashford thanks to this campaign.
Sharon still keeps a watchful eye on the problems Eurostar are experiencing, particularly with winter delays and closures of many hours. In particular she followed the Eurostar Idependent Inquiry which presented their findings in February 2010, which criticised communication inside the company and externally with its customers.
Sharon sympathised being a regular Eurostar traveller herself, once witnessing the guard on the Eurostar train reading the explanation for a particularly long delay from a paper flip-chart on a station platform!
Although communication problems may seem trivial to some, the concern is that the Channel Tunnel in a disaster or emergency scenario could become a life-threatening situation if the staff on the trains are just as confused as the passengers in terms of what action needs to be taken.
Therefore Sharon's campaign to improve Eurostar's services in the region will continue for some time yet.
Campaign Press Releases
February 12th 2010 South East MEP Sharon Bowles slams Eurostar in wake of Independent Review
December 21st 2009 South East MEP Sharon Bowles calls for Eurostar overhaul
July 31st 2008 Ashford International Saved!
September 4th 2007 Sharon fears environmental cost of new Eurostar terminal
July 6th 2007 SAVE ASHFORD EUROSTAR CAMPAIGN GOES TO 10 DOWNING STREET
October 30th 2006 Campaign to save Ashford Eurostar Launched
October 3rd 2006 MEP Demands Answers on Eurostar Future