PRIME Minister Tony Blair is being asked to ensure a commitment that Kent’s hard-pressed rail commuters will be able to use the Channel Tunnel rail link is honoured.

County council leader Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart has written to Mr Blair warning that it is now highly unlikely rail travellers will have the benefit of using the rail link by 2007 – as had originally been promised.

Instead, it now appears delays in awarding the franchise will mean it will probably be 2009 before such services are available.

The warning comes amid speculation that plans by the Strategic Rail Authority to run domestic trains along the link to Thanet and Folkestone could have to be reviewed.

It is understood there may be technical problems surrounding the ability of domestic trains to use parts of the link.

In his letter, Sir Sandy has told the Prime Minister: “It is now highly unlikely that CTRL domestic services will be operational by the promised date at the earliest, leaving the essential growth areas of Ashford and Kent Thameside without high speed rail services in the short an medium term.”

He goes on to say that Kent “put up with significant disruption caused by the construction of the CTRL” on the basis that rail services in east and north Kent would be “significantly improved.”

It was vital Mr Blair intervened personally to “unlock the inertia” and deliver the promised improvements to the people of Kent.

A spokesman for the Strategic Rail Authority would not be drawn on whether its original recommendations were now being reconsidered.

“The proposal we outlined were for fairly extensive domestic services on the CTRL through Kent. That is the plan we consulted on and we are now looking at the responses with the Department for Transport. It would be wrong to pre-empt any announcement,” he said.

Four companies are bidding for the Integrated Kent Franchise but as yet, the SRA has not set out detailed specification for the network. That had been expected in June.