15,300 go to Number 10 to save Ashford International

6th July 2007… 15,300 reasons to be proud of ourselves. Your names, 15,300 of them in total, exercising your democratic right to protest, were taken to Number 10.

We were a group of six regular passengers and campaigners: a Frenchman who moved his business and home to Ashford within six months of Eurostar’s launch there; a Belgian who had done the same; a commuter who travels weekly between Ashford and Brussels. Two rail campaign groups joined us: a representative of the Marsh Link Action Group and a representative of Railfuture. Both have given the Ashford campaign their full support and have collected thousands of signatures. And, of course, I was there too.

Accompanying us were Damian Green, Ashford’s local MP and two of our European Parliament MPs, Sharon Bowles and Peter Skinner. All have worked very hard to help our campaign, collecting numerous signatures and asking questions in the House of Commons and the European Parliament.

Although the Prime Minister, a fellow pupil from Kirkcaldy High School, wasn’t able to come to the door, I too - wearing the school colours of yellow and blue (just like Eurostar) – stood in Downing Steet and told the BBC that I would “strive to my utmost” to get Eurostar to change its mind.

Holding the petition box aloft on the steps of Number 10, we made the evening news that night and featured on the BBC website, in Kent on Sunday and the Kent Messenger.

We are playing our part in the democratic process and the will of 15,300 people should be difficult to ignore. If there is any doubt about how important our protest is, as I write this article on 12th July, our petition is bigger than every single online transport petition open for signatures on the Prime Minister’s website. As for rail petitions, the next biggest rail petition - for another worthy cause put forward by the excellent Roger Ford of Modern Railways Magazine - has only 3,650 signatures.

However, while Eurostar are not ready for a change of heart, our fight will go on. Too many passengers at Ashford are still unaware of what is happening. When I speak to travellers in France and Belgium, I come away with the feeling they are completely in the dark. We must roll up our sleeves and step up the campaign. Keep sending us your comments and observations; keep writing to Eurostar; keep telling friends, colleagues and fellow passengers about what is happening. Ashford can have a great future but it needs your support.