2hr 3min: Eurostar sets new Paris-London record

EUROSTAR yesterday set a new record for train travel between Paris and London when an inaugural service completed the journey in just over two hours.

The 18-coach train left Gare du Nord at 9.44am and arrived at the newly refurbished St Pancras station in central London two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds later.

The train was the first to travel on the new £5.8 billion (€8.5bn) dedicated high-speed route which runs for 110km from the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone in Kent to central London.

Some 400 specially invited guests were on board the train and they were served champagne and croissants in Paris before leaving the French capital.

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said the train’s arrival in London was a great achievement for his company and a massive step forward for rail travel.

The journey was more than 30 minutes faster than the two hours, 35 minutes time between Paris and London’s Waterloo International which will close in November when services switch to St Pancras.

Eurostar was given special permission to travel at speeds of more than 320km/h during the journey, although there were temporary speed restrictions in Calais which slightly delayed the trip.