Eurostar has already begun selling tickets for its launch services from the UK to France and Belgium, for trains departing the refurbished home of London St Pancras.

The high-speed operator will run its last trains from Waterloo International on the evening of 13 November and on the same night, transfer its entire operation to its new north London base.

New Eurostar services from St Pancras are scheduled to run at 186mph (297kph) on the High Speed 1line from London to Paris and Brussels on the morning of 14 November.

Eurostar says that its move will “open up high-speed rail services to millions of people across Britain, with international travellers able to connect with seven mainline train operators at St Pancras, King’s Cross, Euston and six London underground lines."

Tickets are also on sale from Ebbsfleet International in Kent, slated to open on 19 November, with seven daily Eurostar trains to Paris and five to Brussels. Ashford International, also in Kent, will continue to serve Paris, Lille, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps.

“We know that thousands of travellers want to be on the first trains on High Speed 1,” said Eurostar chief executive, Richard Brown.
“We are expecting heavy demand from customers keen to have faster journeys to the continent, while I am sure many will want to travel [also] on the final services from Waterloo.”

1 August 2007