The official opening of the beautifully restored St Pancras International by HM Queen Elizabeth II in company with The Duke of Edinburgh and Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar took place during the evening of 6 November, the event with three trains arriving at the station, heralded just one week to go until the launch of Eurostar services from the station.

The ceremony, attended by VIPs and dignitaries, marked the opening of the station building and launch of High Speed 1 (HS1), and signaled the final seven days of preparations to move Eurostar’s entire London operations overnight, to begin commercial services from St Pancras International on the morning of Wednesday 14 November.

The royal event celebrated the culmination of a £5.8 billion engineering project, built by London & Continental Railways on time and within budget. St Pancras International will become Eurostar’s new London home from 14 November, while High Speed 1 will provide Eurostar with a dedicated, 68-mile (109km) high-speed line between central London and the Channel Tunnel. The new line will enable Eurostar trains to travel at their full speed of 186mph (300km/h), cutting journey times between London and the Continent by at least 20 minutes.