by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Kent has entered a new age of the train.

After more than a century in the sidings, the county’s railway system is finally on the right side of the tracks.

Today, the new High Speed 1 service was unveiled to VIPs and media.

It is part of a preview service that passengers will be able to use from June 29 ahead of a full launch of services between Ashford International, Ebbsfleet and St Pancras on December 13.

The new trains promise to boost the economy, promote regeneration and lead to the creation of more jobs.

At 7.45am, a sleek blue and yellow Hitachi Javelin train pulled out of St Pancras International and 30 minutes and four seconds later, it was stopping at Ashford International.

The train reached a maximum speed of 146mph, slightly above the 140mph it will typically reach when a full service is introduced in December when Ashford will be within 37 minutes out of London, Ebbsfleet 17 minutes, and Canterbury 58 minutes.

Lord Adonis, Transport Secretary, was aboard the train. He said it was part of a "railway renaissance." "This is a great day for Kent and its connection to London. It will transform the quality of the service for the East Kent coastal towns, Ashford and Ebbsfleet.

"It is a transformation of the quality of the railway infrastructure in this region which will be a huge boost to the economy and transform the experience of the travelling public."

Paul Clark, MP for Gillingham and a transport minister, welcomed the new services, saying they would free up capacity on the rest of the network.

"Hi-speed good quality transport links are fundamentally important to the regeneration of the Medway Towns and North Kent," he said.

Paul Wookey, chief exective of Locate in Kent, the agency that promotes the county as a great place for business, added: "There is no doubt that high speed rail will boost the economy in Kent - with more businesses attracted to the county." He expected more people to move into areas like north Kent, Ashford, Canterbury and Folkestone to take advantages of "great value for money" properties.

• The preview service will run three morning peak services from Ashford International to St Pancras International and three return services in the evening peak. Six morning peak services will run betweenEbbsfleet International will and St PancrasInternational and sixback in the evening peak.