Before you make a Eurostar booking here is some Eurostar history and eurostar facts .Eurostar is a cross-country train service that links England with mainland Europe. The major stations are in London, Paris, Lille and Brussels.

Trains cross the English Channel via the Channel Tunnel. In Southern England a rail project is partially completed, which sees rail tracks being built to the same specifications as mainland Europe, cutting down travel times.

On the routes that it services, the Eurostar network has been able gain dominant market shares since their first revenue earning trains in 1994. Eurostar claims a market share of 68% of passengers for the London to Paris route, and 63% of passenfers for the London to Brussels route. The company also actively promotes itself as an environmentally friendly way to travel, by reducing each traveler’s carbon emissions for a short-haul flight. For example, a typical journey from London to Paris causes an estimated emission of 250kg of CO2, whereas a train journey will only cause the emission of 40kg of CO2.

The journey time from London to Paris is currently around 2 hours and 35 minutes. From November 2007, it is expected that this journey ill be cut by about 20 minutes with the completion of rail track at the same standards found in mainland Europe. As well as shortening the travel time, the building of dedicated track means there could be a significant increase in the number of Eurostar services to and from London, as the trains would no longer be affected by UK domestic rail traffic.

As well as direct services between London and Brussels, and London and Paris, there are many other services and stops along the way. Some of these stations include, Ashford International, Calais and Lille in northern France. There are also daily services to Disneyland Paris, during the summer period there are weekly services to Avignon, and during the winter season there are bi-weekly services to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Aime-la-Plagne and Moutiers in the French Alps for the ski season