London to Paris in 2 hours

The first trial run of the Eurostar service on a dedicated high-speed railline has seen the journey time between London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord cut to 2 hours 3 minutes. A train left Paris at 0844 GMT and arrived in London at 1048 GMT. Speeds average about 200 mph. Until recently, Eurostar shared tracks with Kent commuter lines, which do not allow speeds much above 75 mph.

A passenger service commences out of a refurbished London St Pancras on 14 November 2007, which means the closure of London Waterloo as Eurostar's terminal in London. New stations along the new line include Stratford and Ebbsfleet, the latter close to the large Bluewater shopping centre.