The journey time between central London and Paris was cut to two hours 15 minutes today as Eurostar services from St Pancras began.
The train departed the station - which has been restored at a cost of £800m - on time just after 11am. It arrived in the French capital on time despite a national strike paralysing most public transport in France.
It is the first passenger service to use the new £5.8bn Channel tunnel rail link, known as High Speed 1, which allows trains along the full stretch of the British section to travel as fast as those in France.
A high-speed commuter service will also use the link from 2009.
The Eurostar move to St Pancras follows 13 years of services to Paris and Brussels from Waterloo station. Journey times to Brussels become 25 minutes faster, lasting for one hour and 51 minutes.
Richard Brown, the Eurostar chief executive, described the improved service as a "new dawn for short haul travel in Europe".
"Our move to St Pancras makes Eurostar even more accessible to travellers across Britain," he said.
"We will carry passengers with greater speed, ease and reliability than ever before, and our travellers will have the extra reassurance of knowing that they are making far less environmental impact compared with flying."
Interior of the newly refurbished station 
Eurostar train services which link the United Kingdom with Europe via the Channel Tunnel have moved to a new London terminal. The first services from St Pancras International launched today following the completion of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link which promises to reduce journey times to Europe by 20 minutes.

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link, to be branded as High Speed 1, has been built in two phases; the first section was completed in 2003 and the second section was brought into use today. 

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said: "Today marks a new dawn for short-haul travel in Europe. Our move to St Pancras makes Eurostar even more accessible to travellers across Britain. We will carry passengers with greater speed, ease and reliability than ever before, and our travellers will have the extra reassurance of knowing that they are making far less environmental impact compared with flying." 

Waterloo railway station, the previous international London terminal, will be returned to domestic use following the move to St Pancras.