EXCLUSIVE

by political editor Paul Francis

High speed trains could be on track to bring visitors to Royal St George’s during the Open golf championship in July.

Rail chiefs are expected to announce shortly that some High Speed services will be extended to Sandwich over the four days when hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on east Kent.

The details have yet to be finalised.

And it has also emerged Southeastern is actively investigating whether there are options to extend the service on a permanent basis.

There have been mounting calls for faster rail links to help boost the area following Pfizer’s decision to quit its Sandwich base.

The KM Group understands rail operator Southeastern is putting together options for some services to run to Sandwich during the tournament.

If that proves successful, it could pave the way for some high speed services to be introduced to the regular timetable. That would be a major fillip for the area, which has been left reeling by the shock news over Pfizer’s decision.

No firm details about the train service during the Open golf have yet been agreed, but sources say that if no serious logistical problems are presented, their use would dramatically reduce journey times of about two hours to around 80 minutes from London.

It is understood the wider issue of whether they could then be introduced on a permanent basis centres on who would bear the costs, as well as securing the agreement of the Department for Transport.

High level talks have been held on the subject and this week county council transport chiefs held further discussions with Southeastern managers about both subjects.

Southeastern would be required to pay Network Rail to use tracks and is unlikely to be willing or able to meet any additional costs of a permanent timetable change because there is no proven customer demand.

That means funding could have to be provided by the Department for Transport or subsidies from elsewhere.

A report by the government taskforce set up in the wake of the company’s announcement said high speed services to east Kent should be an immediate priority.