NEW high-speed rail links between Kent and London are to become a reality, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has confirmed.

New trains are to run from Kent on the Channel Tunnel rail link to a new Eurostar terminus at St Pancras station in central London.

Fresh routes are expected to include the Medway towns, Sittingbourne, Gravesend, Folkestone, Ramsgate and Canterbury. But it's not all good news.

As Mr Darling announced that Japanese manufacturer Hitachi would build the new 140mph trains, he admitted they would not be running until 2009.

A dark cloud of uncertainty still hangs over several Kent towns. It is a big blow for Ashford which had pinned its hopes on the super-quick link to the capital being ready for 2007.

It is set to play a key role in the Ashford Future development, which will transform the once quiet market town in to a buzzing economic hub as well as doubling the population in the next 30 years.

Trains will ferry passengers to and from London in 37 minutes, shaving at least 40 minutes off the current journey time, which was deemed to be a potentially big draw for people considering a move to Ashford.

The announcement has led to mixed reactions from those charged with bringing these mass changes to fruition.

The Ashford Future Delivery Board, headed by Ashford council leader Cllr Paul Clokie put a positive spin on the delays by declaring that confirmation of the high-speed link running from Ashford was a positive step.

Cllr Clokie said: "There's always slippage in time scales on projects such as this.

"The important thing is that CTRL must happen and it will now happen. We see the announcement as a huge commitment which will give us a high-speed link to London by the end of the decade."

Dover appears to have missed out in its bid to be connected to the high-speed link. through Kent.

While Canterbury, Folkestone and Ramsgate are likely to be included in the new routes to be connected with the link, Dover will not, probably because of the safety problems with Shakespeare Tunnel.

Meanwhile Paul Tipple, chairman of the East Kent Partnership, said: "Confirmation from Alistair Darling concerning the new high-speed domestic services connecting Kent to St Pancras, is wonderful news.

“As always with these things, the devil is in the detail and we look forward to confirmation that these new domestic services will operate to Canterbury and Ramsgate, and to Dover, as envisaged in the Strategic Rail Authority’s consultation earlier this year on service patterns and frequencies for the new Integrated Kent Franchise.”