RURAL train services across Kent could be decimated if new proposals go ahead, county council chiefs have warned.

Rail bosses want to slash the number of trains calling at village stations in a bid to meet demands for faster services calling at Kent's larger towns.

The proposals are included in a consultation document published this month by the Strategic Rail Authority on the new Integrated Kent Franchise, due to begin in 2007.

It spells good news for Sittingbourne, the Medway towns and parts of East Kent, which will, for the first time, enjoy high-speed links with London.

Commuters in these areas will be able to take advantage of new domestic train services operating on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, when the final stretch to St Pancras opens in three years' time.

In West Kent, services from Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks will also improve, with 12-carriage trains introduced to reduce overcrowding.

But other stops on the county's rail network have fared less well, with villages including Kemsing, Harrietsham, Lenham, Hollingbourne and Charing set to lose all off-peak services. Trains linking Maidstone West with Yalding would be reduced to six per day, with services to the Isle of Sheppey halved.

Additional peak-time trains have been promised for Maidstone East, but council chiefs in the county town have still been left fuming.

Rail chiefs have ignored pleas for faster links to London, with proposals to axe the only non-stop, off-peak service to Cannon Street via Maidstone East and West Malling.

Kent County Council, district councils, parish councils and passenger groups are expected to lobby hard to maintain rural services at least to their current level.

The economic importance of faster links between Maidstone and London will also be pressed. Urgent talks with rail bosses are already under way.

KCC leader Cllr Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart (Con) said: "Cutting back on these vital village rail services simply makes no sense. All of us need to campaign together to ensure we keep them. For Maidstone the proposals are for a reduced service...totally unacceptable."