Eurostar has been accused of “exploiting its monopoly” and treating Kent with contempt while it continues to mothball the county’s international railway stations.

But council chiefs say they are refusing to give up on the company returning to Ashford and Ebbsfleet claiming the service has been "stolen" from passengers.

Eurostar bosses were quizzed by officials from Ashford Borough Council (ABC), Kent County Council (KCC), Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce and MP for Weald, Katie Lam, at a meeting last week.

Representatives from each body asked Eurostar managers whether the company has plans to return to the town following its controversial departure almost five years ago.

But the boss of the county’s leading business forum says he was left disheartened by the latest meeting saying Eurostar had “yet again done little to offer reassurance or certainty” about services returning to Kent.

Tudor Price, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce said: “The excuse put forward by Eurostar has always been that they would return when it was commercially viable to do so and yet, at this last meeting, the evidence presented to them that a profitable market exists in Kent, was clear and unambiguous.

“Their unwillingness to entertain a £45m income opportunity from stopping at Ashford makes it very clear to all the stakeholders that Eurostar are exploiting their monopoly on international rail travel and have no regard for jobs or community in Kent.

“The service was funded with a significant investment from the public purse on the understanding that trains would stop in Kent. Eurostar’s current position is unfair, monopolistic, and dismissive of the people of Kent.

“This issue is not going away and Eurostar need to rethink their position.”

ABC council leader Noel Ovenden says the cross-channel train firm, which will not return to Kent in either 2024 or 2025, has refused to rule out serving Kent passengers again in the future.

However, with its long-term plans remaining unknown, Cllr Ovenden (Ashford Independents) says his aim is to keep up the pressure to see the service return.

The representative for Wye with Hinxhill said: "We're continuing to lobby Eurostar to ascertain what their plans are for Ashford and Ebbsfleet too.

"At this point, they have no fixed plans as to what dates they could reopen.

"We have asked them whether they have any plans to reopen in Ashford and really their answer was they have no current plans to reopen in Ashford.

"But I also asked them directly whether they have any plans to close Ashford - and the answer to that was no.

"So they are going to continuing keeping both stations [Ashford and Ebbsfleet] mothballed.

"For me, as long as the stations remain in an operational state, another operator could open from there."

Eurostar says it is aware of the service's impact on the region.

A spokesperson explained: "Our Kent stations will remain closed throughout the remainder of 2024 and 2025.

"We understand this may be frustrating, and we want to stress that we are closely monitoring the situation and, should there be any changes, we will provide an update.

"We recognise the importance of these stations to the local communities, and we remain fully committed to the future of rail connectivity and continue to work transparently with local councils and stakeholders."

Cllr Ovenden says the fact discussions are still on the table is positive.

He added: "We're losing opportunities and tourism - I still don't think Eurostar would actually have closed here without the pandemic.

"It was still a good meeting in that various council representatives all got their point across to Eurostar as to why it's important to the region.

"I understand Eurostar is a commercial business, but the high-speed service was pushed through our town so there was an expectation it would stop here, which it did and carried on doing, but now it doesn't stop here.

"So what they gave us has now been stolen away.

"Our aspiration is to now meet with Eurostar at least once every six months - the moment they stop talking shows they have lost interest.

"I will be pushing for an update to see where they are as a company, what their aspirations are and where we fit into that bigger picture.

"So as soon as we drop this pressure and it goes quiet, Eurostar may just trundle off into the distance and carry on with their comfort zone which is the London to Paris route."

When asked whether there was a possibility Eurostar could return to either solely Ashford or Ebbsfleet, Cllr Ovenden replied: "Because Eurostar doesn't have any plans, anything is possible at the moment.

"But we are not going to lift the pressure we are imposing upon Eurostar to reopen in Ashford and Ebbsfleet."

Speaking in the House of Commons last Thursday, Rochester and Strood MP Lauren Edwards called for rail services from the two Kent stations to return as soon as possible.

‘The evidence presented to them that a profitable market exists in Kent, was clear and unambiguous…’

In response to her parliamentary question, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh agreed to meet the MP and other stakeholders to discuss the resumption of Eurostar services, or the possibility of another operator providing the service.

Ms Edwards said: “It is vital for economic growth and future prosperity across the county that we see international rail services back in Kent as soon as possible.

“Residents were promised huge benefits from direct cross-channel rail services which they are currently missing out on.

“We cannot continue to waste the investment in infrastructure at Kent stations and have large numbers of tourists travelling direct to London St Pancras without stopping to enjoy what Medway and Kent have to offer.

“I look forward to meeting the Transport Secretary with other MPs, and businesses and other representatives from the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership, to discuss how we can secure the resumption of direct international rail services from Kent stations as soon as possible, including the possibility of using other operators.”

Ashford business owner Geoff Matthews says the loss of Eurostar has impacted his Soundcraft Hi-Fi shop in Lower High Street.

The 72-year-old, who says the shop has been in Ashford town centre since 1962, explained: "It was so convenient. Customers used to come to our store for specific products like certain turntables.

"So the accessibility has been lost to Ashford as people have to go to London.

"In the past, people would buy equipment from us and travel back to France, Belgium and even Switzerland so that incentive isn't there at the moment.

"It's hard to quantify [the loss of footfall], but if a customer comes from Belgium to buy a turntable which costs £8,000, that's a lot of money.

"So it was easier for customers to pre-order a product and then sit on the train."

Meanwhile, Bring Back Euro Trains (BBET) also says it is determined to help see the service return to the county with almost 60,000 people signing a petition calling on Eurostar’s return.

However, campaigners say it has further concerns following delays to the new Entry/Exit System (EES) - a series of biometric checks at EU borders.

Long-awaited changes have been pushed back for Britons and other non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen area in Europe.

Scheduled to come into force on November 10, they have since now been delayed.

Members of tourist organisation, Visit Kent, have also echoed their fears about the service not returning to the county.

Chief executive, Deirdre Wells, explained: “We are disappointed Eurostar has yet to commit to reinstating services at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International stations, despite recognising the demand from international businesses and residents in the South East.

“We are working with partners across the county to demonstrate the significant economic growth which the return of these services would deliver for the county and for the UK.”

Ms Lam was contacted for comment.