TWO new international stations due to open in 2007 could damage services to Ashford, a leading academic has warned.

University of Kent professor Roger Vickerman, who has just unveiled a study into the Channel Tunnel's impact on the Kent economy, said he was worried about what might happen when Ebbsfleet International, and Stratford International stations open.

He said services stopping at Ashford might be particularly vulnerable, making the town less attractive to firms thinking of moving to the town.

He said: "I can't see the level of service through Ashford expanding to the extent that might make Ashford even more desirable for companies wanting to locate there."

Eurostar would be under pressure from low-cost airlines to speed up journey times between London and Paris/Brussels, and there was an eight-minute time penalty for stopping at Ashford.

"The real problem in terms of the level of service that Eurostar can provide at the three international stations is possibly going to mean a less than ideal level of service at any of them."

Meanwhile, the report by the University of Kent's Centre for European, Regional and Transport Economics, concluded that the county has not benefited as much as expected from the Channel Tunnel, but it would have done a lot worse without it.

Prof Vickerman said that job creation hopes, other than those in construction, had not been met and retailing had not received the expected stimulus from Continental shoppers, with little investment in shopping facilities directly aimed at cross-Channel travellers, the report said.

"This contrasts strongly with the developments around Coquelles, which have clearly been designed and managed to maximise their attraction for cross-Channel shoppers."

While Prof Vickerman said it was almost impossible to quantify the value of the Channel Tunnel to Kent, there was no denying that it had helped the economy keep pace with its regional neighbours. Without it, the county would have fallen way behind and become more isolated.

"Without the Channel Tunnel, there wouldn't have been a Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the CTRL is critical to the improving accessibility of Kent to the rest of the UK."

There might have been no extended M20, no A20 extension to Dover, and no dualling of the Thanet Way.

But even with the Tunnel, there had been disappointments. Rail freight, for example, was not properly exploited, which meant more traffic on Kent’s roads.

"We don't have seamless, international rail freight movements," Prof Vickerman said.

Eurotunnel's declining market share was due to a number of factors, including the abolition of duty-free and the growth of low-cost airlines. These had given people a much wider choice of destinations for short breaks. "There is a limit to the number of times you can go booze-cruising to Calais," Prof Vickerman said.

Under its new French management, Eurotunnel appeared to have turned its back on the regional benefits of the Tunnel.

Through its "local" rail services, the Tunnel had the ability to foster a regional economy with the Nord-Pas de Calais, and the previous directors had encouraged this strategy. But with the changes, momentum has been lost.

French students already used the Tunnel to commute to the University of Kent and this traffic would increase and Prof Vickerman urged Eurotunnel to take an interest in what happens in the region.