Bubbles at High Speed

Posted Thursday, November 22, 2007, 2:31 PM by Lonely Planet

Unless they've been on the moon for the last year no Londoner could have escaped the hype and publicity surrounding the launch of Eurostar's first carbon neutral service from its new home at St Pancras International on Wednesday 14th November 2007.

Not being able to turn down the chance of being whisked off to Paris for the day, we jumped at Eurostar's invitation to join other "Green Pioneers" on its first service and test out the super fast way of getting over to magical Paris. Plus, Eurostar offset all their carbon emissions, so apart from the (large) chocolate bar we shared on the train over, the trip was practically guilt-free.

We excitedly checked in at the recently refurbished and renamed St Pancras International station, which has been fully restored to house the 400-metre-long Eurostar trains.



With a crowd of media and trainspotters looking on the 11.07am train pulled away from its glorious new home on the first ever 186mph (that's a whopping 300kph) Eurostar to Paris.

As we sped to Paris's Gard Du Nord we watched the blurred scenery rush by before descending into the Channel Tunnel for the 20 minutes stretch under the English Channel. The buffet car was a disappointment - we would have to take out a small loan to purchase a few snacks to see us through the journey. As we emerged from the Tunnel there was a good old British round of applause, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, although this could have had something to do with the free champagne.

The verdict? Comfortable, effortless and the most environmentally-friendly way to travel. With the journey time now only two hours and 15 minutes Eurostar makes flying to Paris look positively outdated. We'll definitely be popping over again soon...


- Louise MacDonald & Heather Carswell, Lonely Planet UK

Labels: Europe, Rail Travel, Sustainable and responsible tourism

Join the Discussion: