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A £10million rail upgrade is out of service thanks to "technical issues" - just days after it was unveiled by the Tory Transport Secretary.

Calamity-prone Chris Grayling swept into Ashford last week to announce its station was ready to serve Eurostar's high-tech new fleet of trains.

De-curtaining a plaque with local MP Damian Green, once Theresa May's right-hand man, he boasted it would keep the Kent town on the map.

"To end up with a situation where the new generation of Eurostar trains couldn't stop here I don't think would have been acceptable," he told KentOnline.

Except, er, that's now what's happened.

As of today, the 17 'e320' trains remain unable to stop at Ashford - thanks to a problem with the pricey new signalling system.

A joint statement by Network Rail and Eurostar confirmed: "We have experienced some technical issues at Ashford which are affecting the e320 trains.

"As a precautionary measure, we will not be stopping e320s at Ashford temporarily while we investigate the cause.

"Our e300 and TMST trains will continue to serve Ashford International in the meantime."

Ashford is one of three 'International' stations in the south east that serve Eurostar trains to Paris and beyond.

(Image: newcastle chronicle) (Image: PA)

Only three London-to-Paris trains per day stop at Ashford after a newer station 40 miles away, Ebbsfleet, was added to the continental line in 2007.

A Eurostar spokesman said the technical issue was noticed "shortly after" last week's unveiling of and "precautionary measures" were introduced immediately.

The e320 trains boast free wifi, built-in power points, "ergonomic reclining seats", 20% higher capacity and a top speed of 200mph.

It is not Mr Grayling's first rail mishap.

He hailed a new fleet of high-speed trains as "fantastic" in October before immediately finding himself trapped on a broken-down train in Bristol.

He's been accused of "lying" about a decision to scrap electrification plans, and faced criticism over what critics call a "bailout" of Virgin Trains.

And the many U-turns on his previous policies as Justice Secretary have become the stuff of legend, including the prison book ban, court charges, tagging and legal aid cuts.