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OUR HISTORY
We've been revolutionising European train travel for than two decades.
Date | Event |
---|---|
6 May 1994 | HM The Queen opens Waterloo International before travelling on Eurostar to Calais for the Channel Tunnel inauguration with President Mitterrand of France. |
14 November 1994 | We start running trains between Waterloo International and Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels-Midi/Zuid and Lille Europe. |
30 July 2003 | We set the UK rail speed record of 208mph (334.7kph) |
17 April 2006 | We launch Tread Lightly and announce that all Eurostar journeys are now carbon neutral. We also pledge to reduce our overall carbon emissions by 25% by 2012. |
14 November 2007 | St Pancras International becomes our new London home. The second section of the UK high speed rail line, High Speed 1, is completed. Our London to Paris journey time is reduced to 2 hours 15 minutes, and London to Brussels just 1 hour 51 minutes. |
28 August 2009 | We carry our 100 millionth traveller. |
1 September 2010 | The new corporate structure for Eurostar International is launched and we become one company. |
7 October 2010 | We announce a £700 million investment in our trains, including ten brand new ones from Siemens and the overhaul and redesign of our current fleet. |
July - August 2012 | As the official international rail provider to the London 2012 Olympic Games, we carry French and Belgian athletes to London. We also unveil our specially-adapted trains to carry French and Belgian Paralympic teams. |
14 July 2012 | Curated by renowned DJ Gilles Peterson, we host an original one-day summer festival, Traction, as part of the 2012 Festival. |
31 October 2012 | We announce our new Business Premier Culinary Director, the world renowned Michelin starred chef, Raymond Blanc OBE. |
30 December 2013 | As we enter our twentieth year, we carry our 140 millionth traveller. We also reach a record total of ten million travellers in one year. |
5 June 2014 | Her Majesty The Queen unveils a plaque at St Pancras International to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel and Eurostar’s birthday. |
13 and 14 November 2014 | We celebrate our 20th anniversary by unveiling our new e320 train at St Pancras International. |
28 May 2015 | The UK government completes the sale of its 40% share in Eurostar International Ltd to a consortium comprising Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), and Hermes Infrastructure. |
Image credits: © eurostar