Eurostar in the UK is going to get High Speed rail soon! And that’s very interesting for any frequent intra-Europe traveller. From November 14, 2007 (mark the date please), its going to be faster travel, and at least 30 to 60 minutes shaved-off your UK-Continental Europe train travel times. The 186mph high-speed line from St Pancras International in London to the Channel Tunnel means that the UK will become part of the high-speed rail network that covers much of Europe. Check out their website for more information: http://fortomorrow.eurostar.com/

In fact, Eurostar is joining Europe’s other leading high-speed rail operators to form Railteam, to make your journey even easier. Railteam is being brought to you by a group of rail companies – along with Eurostar they are: Deutsche Bahn (Germany), SNCF (France), NSHispeed (Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), SBB (Switzerland) and SNCB (Belgium), as well as two of their high-speed subsidiaries Thalys and Lyria. Railteam covers any journey that starts and ends in a Railteam country (see the map on the right), at least part of which involves a high-speed rail journey with a Railteam partner.

Richard Brown, Eurostar CEO, sums it up best: “Railteam will reduce barriers between countries and build confidence in the quality and reliability of international services. It will provide travellers with an integrated network with connections as good as or better than airports, and make high-speed rail a really attractive and effective alternative to the more environmentally damaging, short-haul airlines.”

Photo by Michael Walter/Troika