Southeastern trains have announced that the morning high speed service to London where the number of carriages were halved will return to a 12 carriage train on Monday.

The 6.15am service from Margate to St Pancras International, which stops at Ashford at 7.06am, was reduced from 12 carriages to six after one of the trains was damaged earlier in the summer, leading to overcrowding and standing room only for many.

The Javelin trains come in units of six carriages which cannot be divided, meaning that the whole unit had to be taken out of action.

A Southeastern spokesman said: “We are pleased to confirm that, as of this coming Monday October 3, the 6.15am Margate service to St Pancras International, which stops at Ashford at 7.06am, will again consist of 12 carriages.

“After one of the trains was damaged, we needed initially to shorten this train to six carriages.

“We are happy to let passengers know that we have worked with Hitachi – who look after the upkeep of our high speed trains - to reinstate the full 12 carriages on this busy morning service into London from next week.”

A spokesman for Hitachi Rail Europe, which maintains the High Speed 1 trains at their depot in Ashford, added: “From Monday, we will be able to ensure that Southeastern have an extra train in use.

"This will be welcome news for passengers who travel on our reliable Javelin trains on the extremely popular route from Kent into London.”

Passengers had previously noted overcrowding on the service, taking to social media to voice their frustration.

Full story in next week's Kentish Express.