A major countywide commuter plan has been presented to Whitehall.

The Kent County Council Rail Action Plan for Kent was handed to Transport Minister Theresa Villiers at a Westminster meeting.

Council leader Paul Carter and KCC Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste Bryan Sweetland delivered the 15-point plan, which hopes to shape the next Kent rail franchise from 2014.

The main recommendations are:

* High Speed services all day to Deal & Sandwich

• *Reduced journey times along the North Kent line from the East Kent coast via Medway to Victoria & Cannon Street
• * A new City service all day on Maidstone East line to Blackfriars (Thameslink from 2018), to reinstate City connections from Maidstone and West Mailing

* Retaining Cannon Street for Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells

* New direct service to Gatwick Airport

Mr Carter said: "The Rail Action Plan is about standing up for Kent's rail users and making sure we get the service we want.

"In bringing together the views of rail travellers and local communities across Kent, our Rail Action Plan is a unique and persuasive contribution to the Department for Transport as it begins to shape the next Kent Rail Franchise."

At last week's Kent Rail Summit at County Hall, Paul Carter announced Kent County Council's support for a High Speed rail service for travellers from Sandwich and Deal, which will slash the journey time to London to approximately 90 minutes. It is planned that the service will start from October 3.

KCC Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste Bryan Sweetland called for a change in the regulated fares policy from Jan 2012, to bring them in line with the rest of the country.

He said: "We want all Kent fares to be based on the national Retail Prices Index plus three per cent formula, as they will be elsewhere in England from January 2012.

"We also want to see just compensation on any ticket purchased by passengers whose journey is delayed by over 30 minutes.

"We want a fair deal for all Kent commuters."

• Find out about our Commuters' Charter by clicking on this link