AROUND 200 jobs will be created when Rail Europe opens a new call centre and UK headquarters at Kings Hill business park at West Malling. The subsidiary of SNCF, the French railway operator, chose Kent after rejecting alternative sites across Europe.

The decision is a tonic for the county amid fears that the terrorist attacks on America on September 11 would damage its campaign for more jobs.

It is also a coup for Rouse Kent, developers of Kings Hill, and Locate in Kent, the agency that promotes the county to firms as a good place to do business. Both worked hard for almost two years to land the Rail Europe deal.

Rail Europe Group specialises in continental rail travel, handling bookings for Eurostar, French Motorail and French Travel Service holidays in Paris, Disneyland and the French regions. The operation is presently based in Piccadilly, London, and Waterloo.

Many jobs will be filled by existing staff moving from London to Kent. But Rail Europe is likely to need dozens of local people.