There is an answer for anyone wanting to travel to Brussels from Ashford. You can book a Eurostar to Lille, then connect with either another Eurostar or a TGV at Lille to continue on to Brussels. It's only a platform change, as the trains run through Lille Europe station. Also, the cost isn't that much more and I'm sure this would beat a painful bus ride to Ebbsfleet!

J. Rush, Ashford,

Brilliant news! Eurostar have never lived up to their initial promise of connecting the UK with Europe. They have only ever succeeded in connecting London with Paris and Brussels - at the start they were predicting through trains to Cologne but they never materialised. Deutsche Bahn have been expaning their network of highspeed trains with great success whereas Eurostar have now cut back and left their customers in Kent and Sussex high and dry while telling us how great Ebbsfleet is for us! No Eurostar it's not - it is now harder to get to Germany as a rail passenger from Dover than it was 20 years ago! Is that an inprovement? I don't think so! When can I by my ticket to Cologne please??

Keith Howell, Dover, UK

I will be happy to see a challenge to Eurostar. As a resident of Ashford who needs to travel to Brussels, I am appalled at their decision to axe our trains. Today I have been up to Dartford to find out how to get to Ebbsfleet by public transport. I did find the fast track bus but the combined train and bus time plus half an hour at check in would have totalled FOUR hours before even seeing a Eurostar train so a six hour journey at least door to door instead of two and a half as at the moment. I believe Eurostar is now suggesting that people from Ashford should go by bus to Ebbsfleet!!! I keep saying that the journey could be quicker and easier from York to Brussels than from Ashford which is 275 miles nearer the Channel.

E Robson, Ashford, Kent, UK

On behalf of Bexhill Rail Action Group (www.bexhillrailaction.org.uk), I welcome this proposal.

Eurostar has treated its customers in Kent and East Sussex with contempt in withdrawing services between Ashford and Belgium.

We hope that Deutsche Bahn, if successful, will make greater use of Ashford International. This would encourage greater use of the railway along the coast between Brighton and Ashford.

We also hope that fares will come down as a result of this development!

Gareth Smith, Bexhill-on-Sea, UK

This is a great idea and opens up many exciting possibiities, including sleeper services. Lets hope that its not allowed to be blocked by the combined talents of both Eurostar and and the government. There is a desperate need for competition to do something about Eurostars eccentric and irrational ticket pricing. I regularly use Eurostar from Ashford to Brussels, but unfortunately they have decided later this month to move all the Brussels services (and therefore further connections onwards from Brussels) to their new London Parkway station (aka Ebbsfleet). Additional services through the tunnel from other operators would hopefully lead to more trains stopping at Ashford and therefore allowing people outside of London to enjoy the benefits of high speed train travel.

COLIN IVORY, HASTINGS, EAST SUSSEX

As a resident of Ashford in Kent I have been very unimpressed by Eurostar's "two fingers" to customers of Ashford International Station. From 14th November all direct Brussels services will be withdrawn and only 3 Paris trains will remain. Eurostar's response? Drive to Ebbsfleet (40 miles away up crowded motorways - there's no train service to Ebbsfleet from Ashford until 2009). I hope this is the start of some real competition.

Gavin Smith, Ashford, Kent

I hope they do ! Eurostar's pricing policy is scandalous now, as is the waste of money on purpose-bulit overnight rolling stock which was then sold to Via Rail in Canada, "because there was no market for overnight trains". I agree entirely that we should see overnight (and day) trains to the Continent (South of France, Spain, Germany, Italy etc.) - there is a market !
Simon, Paris

Simon, Paris,

Having just travelled to Berlin by sleeper and wasted 1.5 hours each way hanging around Buxelles-Midi for the connection between DB and EuroStar, I'd love to see direct trains from London to Germany. The Eurostar is good but incredibly limited as it is still fundamentally a London Paris shuttle.

Marc Thomas, Oxford,

That sounds like an excellent idea. I'm hoping they run overnight sleeper trains. Being able to hop on a train in London in the evening and wake up in Berlin or Frankfurt the following morning would be great. Environmentally-conscious consumers will love it because it's less damaging than flying (London to Berlin by land is a good day or so of travelling at the moment), and if DB provide wireless internet on their trains, they can get the business market. Increased competition over the tunnel will force Eurostar to bring its prices down, or find some other way of competing (if their trains can run on standard British tracks and DB's can't, perhaps they can introduce a service from the continent to, say, Edinburgh or Manchester?) It sounds like a big win for passengers.

Andrew, London, UK

Eurostar now goes to Brussels. Next year, the High Speed Network is achieved in the Benelux. It is logic, that Die Bahn will start through services from Köln to London. But there more oportunities in de railnetwork at both sides of the Channel. The next step is a double service form Rotterdam and from Köln, with both portions set together in Brussels for London. At the other hand, new "beyond of Londen" services to the Midlands and South-Wales are possible . In France, the number and the quality of overnighttrains is lowering. One day, an operator wil start Hotel-Train-services to the Mediterannee, Berlin, Switserland and Italy. These strategies will help to fill the High Speed One trough Kent, with a few trains each hour. At the other hand, more freight-trains are expected to use the line-capacity in the Chunnel.

Fred Van Remoortel, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

About time Eurostar had some competition. For the past 13 years cross-channel passenger rail services have been provided by an unregulated private monopoly, leading to ludicrously expensive fares and diabolical connections with other rail services. Hopefully Deutsche Bahn's bid will wake Eurostar up from its complacent slumber.

Alex Macfie, Oxford,