Eurostar gets 1.6-billion-dollar home

November 14, 2007

Eurostar, the high-speed rail link connecting Britain to continental Europe, launches its brand-new London terminus on Wednesday. Saint Pancras is a Victorian architectural jewel in the era's neo-Gothic style, but the building has been completely refurbished in a 1.6-billion-dollar renovation which has taken decades. Thanks to the replacement of ageing rails on the British side, the new link will shave the travel time between London and Paris down to two hours and 15 minutes -- 20 minutes quicker than the trip into newly retired Waterloo International. Eurostar is preparing celebrations when the first new train arrives at Saint Pancras, but the launch could be troubled by a transport strike in France. Coverage of the train's departure in Paris and its arrival in London.