80 Minutes to Le Day Trip ; (1) Frank Barrett,Travel Editor, On How Lille Will Be First in Line for a Boost When the High-Speed Rail Link From St Pancras Opens This Week(2) Travelmail Special

Summary

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Lilles most famous son, General Charles de Gaulle, must be spinning in his grave. The man who as President of France did so much to try to keep Britain out of Europe would not be pleased to see his hometown shifting ever closer to London.

The Earth may not be moving this Wednesday but the London terminus for Eurostar services is shifting from Waterloo to St Pancras. Trains will now travel between the Channel Tunnel and London on a wholly high-speed route no longer will the Eurostar have to dawdle on South-East London lines but instead will be able to speed through at up to 186mph.

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Extract

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80 Minutes to Le Day Trip ; (1) Frank Barrett,Travel Editor, On How Lille Will Be First in Line for a Boost When the High-Speed Rail Link From St Pancras Opens This Week(2) Travelmail Special

Until now a journey from London to Lille on Eurostar has taken one hour 40 minutes. From Wednesday the services shift to St Pancras International and 20 minutes get shaved off all Eurostar journey times to the Continent: a trip to Lille will take just 1 hour 20 minutes.

Lille seems to share little of the former Presidents anti- British sentiments. It actually do...

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