The Mayor of London is set to be thwarted in his attempt to take over some Kent rail services.

The Department for Transport is expected to confirm that it will not be supporting the bid by Transport for London to take over key lines and some stations between the capital and Kent.

Sources say the decision will put an end to a plan that was widely opposed by Kent MPs and council chiefs.

The Mayor Boris Johnson had signalled he wanted to expand Transport for London's services into Kent, contending that it made sense and would increase capacity and allow more travellers to use Oyster cards.

But the idea faced almost total opposition in Kent, with the county council saying it was totally unacceptable and would hit thousands of rail commuters.

MPs feared that if it went ahead, the Mayor would focus on services closer to the capital and might raise fares from parts of Kent to subsidise cheaper fares for Londoners.

Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke said: "This power grab by the Mayor would have meant higher prices and worse services for people in Kent.

"The DfT will be making the right decision in rejecting his plan. The
risk was that changes would have been made that would have led to worse
services for places like east Kent."

"This power grab by the Mayor would have meant higher prices and worse services for people in Kent" - Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke

In a statement, the DfT said only that a decision was expected shortly but insiders say that it will not be supportive of the Mayor's ideas.

Kent council leader Paul Carter had said the Mayor's proposal to increase the frequency of "metro" services - routes within London's boundaries - would harm services coming to the capital from Kent.

In a letter to the transport minister outlining his concerns, he wrote: "We are in serious danger, if current TfL proposals go ahead, of benefiting London commuters, while disadvantaging Kent commuters.

"This must not be allowed to happen."

Only last week, MPs from Kent met transport minister Stephen Hammond to argue against the Mayor's plans.