Eurostar sets Paris-London record
- BBC News -
Eurostar has set a record on its inaugural journey from Paris to London via Britain's new high-speed line.
The train, carrying journalists and VIPs, arrived at St Pancras, instead of Waterloo, for the first time. It took two hours, three minutes, 39 seconds. The 68-mile line is expected to help cut Paris to London journey times by 20 minutes to two hours, 15 minutes, when it opens to the public on 14 November.
The train left central Paris at 0944 BST. The BBC's Nick Higham, on board the train, said a GPS device had recorded a speed of 202mph (325km/h) in France and 195mph in Britain. Trains will normally reach speeds of up to 186mph in Britain. The train joined the new 68-mile (110km) line, known as High Speed 1, at the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone, before arriving at St Pancras International at about 1148 BST.
Ben Ruse, of London and Continental Railways, the company behind the new line, said: "It's an absolute milestone in the history of rail travel in the UK."
Richard Brown, chief executive of Eurostar, said he hoped that by 2010 10m people would travel by Eurostar each year.
"Today marks Britain's entry into the European high-speed rail club."
He said journey times to Paris, even for people travelling from Yorkshire, would be broadly the same as for those flying due to lengthier check-in times at airports.
"It's as quick and more frequent... and we will be matching airline prices."
Source BBC News - Read full article
