High speed train breaks records

The high speed train linking the UK with Continental Europe achieved a record breaking time for the journey between London and Paris on Wednesday September 4th.

The Eurostar train left Paris at 10:44 CET and arrived in St Pancras International Station in London at 11:47 BST, traveling at speeds of up to 200mph (320km/h) as it journeyed between the two capital cities. Total travelling time (taking into account the time zone differences) was two hours and three minutes.

The test run made record-breaking time ten weeks before the service is set to launch. The first passenger run will leave St Pancras International on November 14th. On the same day, Eurostar will begin operations from its new office, closing its terminal at Waterloo. The new service is expected to save travellers at least 20 minutes.

Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: “Eurostar has today proved that our 186 mph trains are by far the quickest way of traveling between France and Britain. Paris and London have joined the ‘two-hour club’ and our great cities are now even closer together.

“Today’s record-breaking run shows that High Speed 1 unleashes Eurostar’s true capability to carry millions of travellers conveniently, comfortably and quickly between Britain and the continent.”

www.eurostar.com