Welcome
Login
Eurostar History
| Date | Event |
| 17 May 1993 | Completion of Waterloo International Terminal |
| 20 June 1993 | First test train arrives in the UK through the Channel Tunnel |
| 6 May 1994 | Channel Tunnel inaugurated by HM The Queen and President Mitterrand of France |
| 14 November 1994 | Public Eurostar services commence with two services each way to Paris and Brussels |
| 8 January 1996 | Start of services from Ashford International, Kent |
| 1 June 1996 | London & Continental Railways (LCR) assumes ownership of European Passenger Services, the British operator. |
| 29 June 1996 | Start of Direct services to Disneyland Paris |
| 14 November 1996 | Eurostar Frequent Traveller, Eurostar's Loyalty programme launched |
| 13 December 1997 | Start of ski train services to the French Alps |
| 14 December 1997 | Inauguration of the Belgian high-speed line reduces London-Brussels journey time to two hours and 40 minutes. |
| 1 October 1998 | Start of work on the UK high speed rail line between the Channel Tunnel and London |
| 11 March 1999 | Formation of Eurostar Group announced |
| 20 July 2002 | Start of direct services from Waterloo and Ashford to Avignon |
| 30 July 2003 | Eurostar sets new UK rail speed record of 208.0 mph or 334.7 km/h |
| 16 September 2003 | CTRL1 opens on time and on budget |
| 28 September 2003 | Passenger services begin on CTRL1 |
| 23 August 2004 | Eurostar sets a new punctuality record with 97.35% of trains arriving on time or early during the week of 16-22 August 2004 |
| 7 September 2004 | Eurostar launches its first refurbished train |
| 14 November 2004 | Eurostar celebrates its 10th birthday |
| 5 January 2005 | Record passenger figures, sales revenue and punctuality announced |
| 1 September 2005 | Eurostar reinvents first class, splitting business and leisure travellers with the launch of Business Premier and Leisure Select |
| 14 Nov 2006 | Eurostar announces that services from St Pancras International will begin on 14 November 2007 |
| 17 April 2006 | Eurostar launches the ‘Tread Lightly’ initiative. This means that all Eurostar journeys to/from St Pancras International will be carbon neutral. Eurostar also pledges to reduce its overall carbon emissions by 25% by 2012 |
| 11 July 2007 | Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh travel with Eurostar to Brussels |
| 4 September 2007 | Eurostar makes its inaugural run between Paris Nord and St Pancras International. The journey takes only 2 hours 3 minutes |
| 20 September 2007 | Eurostar makes the inaugural run from Brussels Midi to St Pancras International in only 1 hour 41 minutes |
| 2 October 2007 | Eurostar opens its new depot, Temple Mills International, in East London in preparation for the switch of services to St Pancras International |
| 13 November 2007 | The last Eurostar services arrive and depart from Waterloo International |
| 14 November 2007 | Eurostar launches services from St Pancras International |
| 19 November 2007 | Services are launched from Ebbsfleet International, Eurostar’s newest station located just off Junction 2 of the M25 in Kent |
| 14 April 2008 | Eurostar sells Oyster cards onboard trains |
| 22 April 2008 | Eurostar and the National Gallery launch Station Masters at St Pancras International |
| 11 September 2008 | Fire on Eurotunnel freight shuttle train closes the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar has to suspend high-speed passenger services. |
| 13 September 2008 | Eurostar starts operating but a limited timetable and longer journey times because of the single-line working in the Channel Tunnel. |
| 1 October 2008 | Eurostar launches a new timetable which will operate until the work on the Channel Tunnel has been completed in the first quarter of 2009. Journeys are longer and there are gaps in the timetable because of the single-line working in the Channel Tunnel. |
| 3 December 2008 | Eurostar carries 10 million travellers on High Speed 1 |
| 23 February 2009 | Eurostar resumes a full timetable with journey times reduced to pre-incident levels. London – Paris 2h15, London – Brussels 1h51 and London – Lille 1h20. |
| 23 February 2009 | Direct services between Ashford International and Brussels are reinstated. |
| 6 April 2009 | Eurostar issues its Travel Nation Report which explores changing travel behaviours given the new economic climate. |
| 7 April 2009 | Eurostar appoints Pininfarina as designer for the interior refurbishment of the Eurostar fleet. |
| 28 April 2009 | Eurostar issues its 2009 Tread Lightly Report and up-date on its 10 point environmental plan. |
| 29 May 2009 | Eurostar announces connecting fares to Switzerland. |
| 17 June 2009 | Eurostar introduces single fares from just £35.00 return – greater flexibility and end of stay away conditions. |
Company Information
Route maps
Where you’re going, how we’ll get you there and how long it will take
