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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.Construction of the line and revamping St Pancras cost £5.8bn in public funds.The high cost of the project is partly due to some major engineering challenges, including laying track to pass over the River Medway, under the River Thames and through 11 miles of tunnels beneath London. 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.It passed through the new £100m Ebbsfleet International station near Dartford, in Kent.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."It was a combination of the power of the train and "top-notch, specific engineering" of the track that had enabled the train to travel at the same speed on the continent and in the UK, he said.Seven services to Paris and five to Brussels will start running from Ebbsfleet from 19 November and a ticket office has been opened at Bluewater Shopping Centre two miles from the station. Eurostar trains have always travelled along the French section of the route at high speeds, but were forced to slow down on the British side because they shared a track with commuter services in and out of London.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."To read more go to:
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