A new £44 million Kent railway station branded a costly white elephant has been hailed a success - despite failing to hit passenger targets.

Train bosses are celebrating the first anniversary of Thanet Parkway near Ramsgate today, but admit the station has not quite reached the projected 100,000 passenger journeys in its first 12 months of operation.

A combined scheme between Network Rail, Southeastern, Kent County Council and Thanet District Council, the station offers high-speed services to London St Pancras in one hour and 12 minutes, as well as regular mainline trains.

But it has been under scrutiny ever since the original estimated cost of the development quadrupled, leaving commuters and residents questioning the escalating bill and the need for a new station wedged between Ramsgate and Minster.

Now, KCC, Network Rail and Southeastern are claiming success after the number of users rose to 92,000 - which is 8,000 shy of the business case target, which they now hope to hit next month.

They also believe the station provides the potential for an integrated transport hub in the future.

Passenger services director at Southeastern, David Wornham, says the company is “building a better, more reliable and sustainable railway”, adding: “It’s fantastic to see the number of people travelling to and from Thanet Parkway and neighbouring stations growing every month.

"An all-electric railway such as ours is still the most environmentally friendly and most effective way for large numbers of people to visit our fabulous tourist attractions as well as the various education, employment and healthcare opportunities across our network.

“We also know rail investment is a fantastic enabler of further investment and economic growth and we look forward to the infrastructure-first approach of building Thanet Parkway continuing to support a growing east Kent.”

But Labour Thanet county councillor Barry Lewis, who last year branded the station a white elephant, remains a vociferous critic, and is unimpressed by the passenger numbers which he claims represent just 3% of passenger journeys in Thanet.

“The station is still a huge waste of money, which could have been put to better use across the island,” he says.

“I’ve always said it doesn’t justify the cost and I’m now even more angry that Thanet is being stripped of services with threats to close vital things like children’s centres because of cuts in funding.”

But among the satisfied commuters is management consultant Adam Campbell, from Preston, who travels to London twice a week for work.

“I used to go from Canterbury but when they whacked the parking charges up to £15 a day it became too expensive,” he said.

“I did use Ramsgate as well but it’s further and I’d end up parking outside people’s houses which just cheeses them off.

“So Parkway works for me but I just wish they’d kept the parking free because I’m sure they get more users.

“It’s cost a lot of money to build but there’s a lot of new development around here as well as the potential of Manston airport.”

KCC has ploughed millions of pounds into the project but the final full figure of its investment has yet to be calculated,.

A spokesman said: “As with all major projects, final costs are only confirmed when the project’s accounts with contractors are finalised and closed.

“All costs published to date are estimates and once the project is complete and final accounts with contractors are agreed and paid, the final project cost will be published.”

Boasting 250m platforms to cater for long trains and a near-300 space car park, Thanet Parkway is a vast site, considering it has no other amenities like a cafe, shop or even easily accessible toilets.

And there was criticism when after six months of free use, a daily parking charge of £5.10 was introduced which it was feared would put some passengers off.

But Network Rail and Southeastern says the number of customers using Thanet Parkway has increased by nearly 40% a month, starting at just over 6,000 a month last summer to an average of 8,500 in recent months.

And it seems to have had no detrimental effect on passenger journeys from the neighbouring Ramsgate and Minster stations either, which Southeastern says are up 11%.

The train operators also point to increased services at Thanet Parkway since opening last summer, when the station was served by an hourly high-speed service, alongside a limited peak-time mainline service to and from Charing Cross.

Now, in addition to the fast trains, an hourly main line service runs throughout the week as well as extra weekend services with customers for popular destinations such as Canterbury, Ashford and Ramsgate now getting two trains every hour.

David Davidson, Network Rail Kent route director, said: “Thanet Parkway is Kent’s first new station in eight years and is playing a critical role in encouraging as many people as possible to ditch the car and use the train as their preferred method of travelling.

“The station is just one of a growing number of projects that are benefitting our passengers as a result of our strategic alliance with Southeastern.”

Thanet District Council leader, Cllr Rick Everett is equally enthusiastic about Thanet Parkway, calling it a welcome addition to the district’s transport network.

“It’s providing an alternative to driving into Ramsgate, and having to park in busy residential roads, “ he said.

“It has also improved rail options for local people and visitors, and most importantly, without an overall increase in journey times.

“The increase in services is particularly good news as it adds more flexibility for users travelling to London and Ramsgate, and provides direct off-peak links from Parkway to various village stations on the route, including Minster.”