A new high-speed train link yesterday brought Paris and London closer than ever before, making the 345-kilometer journey in just over two hours.
For the first time the 18-coach Eurostar train did not have to hit the brakes until it reached its destination, thanks to the completion of Britain's first 5.8 billion-pound ($11.7 billion) high-speed route, which runs for 109 kilometers from the Channel Tunnel near the coastal city of Folkestone to central London.
"We have a new record," claimed Eurostar CEO Richard Brown as the train sped into the newly refurbished St. Pancras train station in central London, two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds after leaving Paris' Gare du Nord.
The train traveled at speeds of more than 320 kilometers per hour in France and reached the maximum of 299 kph on the British section.
That's slightly faster than the train will go when the new track enters regular service on November 14. Then it will make the Paris-to-London journey - slightly longer than the distance from New York to Washington, D.C. - in two hours and 15 minutes, shaving 20 minutes off current travel times.
Arriving in London yesterday, passengers were met with a very French travel problem: Subway workers were on strike, much to the amusement of French people traveling aboard.
Strikes aside, Eurostar forecasts a 25 percent rise in traffic by 2010 as the faster service attracts day trippers and travelers from the north of England.
The current route into London's Waterloo International will close in November when services switch to St. Pancras.
"I'll be saving time so of course it's a good thing," said Antoine Pascal, a busy equities derivative broker for TFS Brokers in London, who commutes to Paris at least once every 10 days.
"It's better than the plane because airports make for a complicated journey. An extra 20 minutes is important for business people."
The new St. Pancras International terminal is better connected both with the rest of London - via six underground lines - and to the rest of Britain with rail links to the north.
The Victorian glory of the St. Pancras station has been restored with a 400 million pound ($810 million) makeover. For tourists, a computer booking system will be available from November offering through fares to destinations such as Cambridge and Bordeaux.
Eventually, Eurostar hopes to run services such as London-Amsterdam.
By March, Eurostar will be running 18 daily return journeys, up from the current 16.
Though Eurostar will pay more for using the new track, it has pledged to keep fares level at euro77 ($104) or 59 pounds for an economy return ticket. The shortfall will be made up by an increase in passenger traffic, Brown said.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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