LONG-SUFFERING rail passengers in Kent will have to wait until 2009 to reap the benefit of shorter journey times on Channel Tunnel Rail Link trains, rail chiefs have confirmed.

The Strategic Rail Authority has announced that domestic passengers can expect to be able to use the new 140mph high-speed trains by the end of the decade, two years after originally forecast.

The authority has also disclosed that commuters may have to pay up to 35 per cent more for the privilege. It has suggested that the franchise holder will be able to charge “premium fares” on services using the rail link.

For passengers travelling to London from Ashford, it could be the standard fare plus an additional 20 per cent. For those travelling from Ebbsfleet to St Pancras, the cost of a ticket will be the standard fare from Gravesend to London, plus 35 per cent of that fare.

However, there was some good news when the SRA said that it was sticking by its original intention of running the high-speed services through to Ebbsfleet and the Medway Towns on to Ashford, Ramsgate and east Kent – including possibly Dover.

The SRA has also backtracked over plans to reduce services running to and from several rural stations such as Lenham, Harrietsham and Charing. The one key omission was Maidstone, with the County Town appearing to lose out in its battle to win access to the high-speed trains.

Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, said: "Passengers will benefit from new opportunities to travel, with improvements to the speed, reliability and overall capacity of the network. There will be a 10 per cent increase in the number of services arriving in London in the morning peak once the new service pattern is introduced.

"The CTRL domestic services will operate on both domestic railway tracks and the new high speed channel tunnel rail link track, where they will reach speeds of 140 mph. Journeys from Ashford to central London will be reduced by 40 minutes each way.”

There was a broad welcome for the announcement in Kent. County council chiefs said the SRA had heeded its concerns.

Cllr Alex King, KCC cabinet member for regeneration, said: “It looks as though the SRA has listened to our views about the need for high-speed servics to run all the way to the Kent coast,” he said.

Thanet North MP Roger Gale (Con) said the timetable was “unncessarily behind schedule” but agreed it was good news that four companies wanted the job.

Dover MP Gwyn Prosser said: "This is good news for East Kent and good news for Dover. At the end of last year some people were writing off all prospects of bringing the CTRL trains into Dover.”

A decision on which of the four companies who have expressed an interest in running the service will be made in the autumn.