from London to Thanet began in December 2009, and it is now possible to travel from Margate to St Pancras railway station at an average speed of 96 kmh (around 60 mph); maximum speed of 225 km/h (around 140 mph). This will form part of the UK's first true high-speed commuter service, according to the South Eastern Railway Company. Main road links are the A28 which brings traffic from Canterbury and Ashford; and the A299, north coast route. The Saxon Shore Way Long distance footpath skirts the coast. There is an airport, now closed, at Manston, formerly RAF Manston, but later renamed by its commercial operators as Kent International Airport. The airport closed permanently on 15 May 2014. Because it was used as a U.S. airbase during the Second World War it has one of the longest runways in the UK, and while open it was designated by the United Nations as an emergency landing site for aircraft in trouble. Ferry services are no longer running from the Port of Ramsgate, and the council is currently in dispute with the former operators over the payment of £3.3 million Health Thanet has a large hospital: the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, known as the QEQM. Extension work which started in 2007 has made the QEQM a major hospital site. As of July 2010, overall indicators of health were poor for Thanet: Health is worse in Thanet than in England on average Life expectancy is lower than for England There are health inequalities: in deprived areas life expectancy is 5 years lower for women and 10 years lower for men Teenage pregnancies are high compared to the England average Estimated smoking rates are average but death rates from smoking are significantly higher Binge drinking is around the national average Children are significantly less active than average Significantly higher than average number of people admitted to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions Significantly higher than average rate of diabetes Significantly higher than average rate of mental health problems Media Local newspapers are the Thanet Extra, part of the KM Group; Isle of Thanet Gazette and Thanet Times (merged with Adscene, October 2009), (the Thanet Times was withdrawn in October 2012) all owned by Northcliffe Media; and the midweek Your Thanet published online by KOS Media. The county-wide newspaper Kent on Saturday also serves the district. Local radio stations are; KMFM Thanet (previously known as