Kent leaders have made fresh calls urging the government to "finish the job" and extend the Elizabeth Line to the county.

Dartford MP Jim Dickson (Lab) has asked the new Labour administration to look at all possible options to bring the latest tube service to Dartford and Ebbsfleet.

A debate took place in Parliament earlier today (November 12) in which MPs discussed the merits of extending the £19bn link, which opened in May 2022, east from Abbey Wood, south east London to north Kent.

Mr Dickson told Westminster Hall there was a “discrepancy” between the number of Crossrail services north of the Thames compared to the south, and while his constituency was not a London one they are very much “dependent on transport links into the capital”.

He went on to call on the new Labour government to “finish the job” and extend the Elizabeth line out to Ebbsfleet.

”Dartford and the wider Thames Estuary have the potential to become one of the engines of growth for the new government with the possibility of over a million new jobs by 2050,” he explained.

“Investment in transport infrastructure like the extension of the Elizabeth Line and the Lower Thames Crossing can kick start economic growth in the region.”

However, rail minister Simon Lightwood said: “There are currently no plans to extend the line from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet International, though the route currently is safeguarded.”

He urged the Dartford MP and his Labour colleague, Daniel Francis, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, who was also in attendance at the debate to “continue to lobby” Transport for London (TfL) on this issue.

Supporters of an extension to Ebbsfleet believe it would bolster links to an area where 15,000 homes are being built – and to enable an interchange with HS1 high-speed services between St Pancras and the Kent coast.

The Elizabeth Line, also known as Crossrail, currently terminates in Abbey Wood but the original plan would have seen it end in Ebbsfleet.

However, the north Kent section was dropped in 2004 due to cost pressures and infrastructure difficulties involved with it sharing tracks with the Southeastern and National Rail network.

In 2008, the proposed 16km route from Abbey Wood to Gravesend and Hoo Junction, including a station at Erith, was safeguarded by an Act of Parliament.

Dartford council leader Jeremey Kite (Con), has long called for the service to be extended into North Kent.

Following the debate today, he told KentOnline: "What Dartford needs is to be respected on a number of fronts when it comes to transport.

"The council has safeguarded the Elizabeth Line. We have made sure there are no obstacles to it being extended. We want it to come.

"As important is to get the Eurostar back in Ebbsfleet and the Lower Thames Crossing.

"We need a coordinated and joined-up approach to transport. I support the idea of bringing improved public transport into Dartford.

"Public transport needs a shot in the arm for Dartford. We need to see results, we need to make sure we replace some of the talking with action."

Earlier this year, several London councils also called for the line to be extended into Kent, arguing the scheme “is vital to catalysing housing and employment opportunities”.

Dartford has some of the slowest journeys recorded inside the M25 commuter belt and it was expected the Elizabeth Line, which opened in 2022, would relieve some of these travel pressures.

The Crossrail to Ebbsfleet (C2E) Partnership was previously formed as an informal group of local authorities and transport agencies to reconsider the extension towards Ebbsfleet, as well as support the delivery of new homes and jobs.

In 2019, it was handed nearly £5million in government funding to produce a study exploring the five best options – later whittled down to three.

Of those considered, two involved enhancing the Elizabeth Line to provide more direct rail services from London to Ebbsfleet, Northfleet and Gravesend.

In each case, some sections of additional track would need to be built alongside junction works, enhancement of existing stations and new stabling facilities.

In 2022, the C2E Partnership submitted its strategic outline business case to ministers and set out its preferred choice.

This was to see eight of the 12 Elizabeth Line trains per hour that currently terminate at Abbey Wood extended eastwards to Ebbsfleet.

However, where the proposal was initially costed at £1.5 billion, the current cost now sits between £2.6 billion and £3.2 billion, according to a report by Transport for the South East (TfSE).

KentOnline asked the Department for Transport for an update on the business case presented but it said TfL was best placed to comment on the progress of any such scheme.

A TfL spokesperson said: “Local authorities in London and north Kent have looked at options to improve transport connectivity and capacity to support the development of new homes and jobs in the area.

“This includes considering options for potential future extensions of Elizabeth line services from Abbey Wood to Northfleet/Ebbsfleet and Gravesend or from Abbey Wood to Dartford.

“There are currently no plans for this although the C2E Partnership submitted consultation information to the government as part of their Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) submission in 2022.

“Should any decision be made to extend the line in the future, wider discussions would need to take place with the government on how this would be funded.”