Council leaders John Burden and Jeremy Kite joined forces this week to bring Crossrail to north Kent to serve Gravesham and Dartford commuters.

The duo want the government to extend the £15bn rail project, due to open in 2018, which promises quicker and more comfortable journeys.

Under current proposals, trains to Kent will halt at Abbey Wood but the leaders say it would be “short-sighted” to ignore huge developments in the area like the Ebbsfleet Garden City and London Paramount in Swanscombe.

And the government has confirmed it is looking at extending the line to Ebbsfleet as part of its commitment to build a garden city, in a report published this week.

Gravesham council leader John Burden (Lab) said: “Although the current proposals halt at Abbey Wood, the route is safeguarded through our two towns so I hope it means we are pushing at an open door.

“Both Gravesham and Dartford have huge growth potential but we can only ask local people to meet the challenges ahead if they know that the local transport systems can cope. Part of that should be Crossrail.”

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite (Con) said the authorities should learn soon whether it was possible to expand the scheme.

He added: “There is no way that any serious economy could accept a new rail network that stopped a few miles short of two major residential and leisure destinations.

“John and I are making the case at every opportunity and I am cautiously optimistic that we have been successful in getting our message across.

“It is certainly being discussed seriously now.”

Their intervention comes after developers behind the Paramount resort said they wanted to lobby ministers to extend Crossrail to Ebbsfleet station.

London Resort Company Holdings director Fenlon Dunphy said there was a logic to extend the line from Paddington to Abbey Wood out to north Kent.

Supporters will look for help from Michael Cassidy, chairman of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, who is also a non-executive director at Crossrail.

Mr Cassidy is leading the creation of the garden city proposals which were unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne in March, the first for 100 years. Developers will build 15,000 homes in Ebbsfleet.

Meanwhile the team behind the £2bn London Paramount resort say the park will attract a further three million customers a year to north Kent when it opens in 2020.