About Bloody Time!

[Barman]

Eurostar sets Paris-London record

Eurostar has set a speed record on its inaugural journey from Paris to London via a new high-speed line.
The train, carrying journalists and VIPs, arrived at St Pancras, instead of Waterloo, for the first time. It took two hours, three minutes, 39 seconds.

The 186mph (300km/h) British line is expected to cut Paris to London journey times by 20 minutes to 2hr 15min when it opens to the public on 14 November.

Source

Why are we celebrating this as some sort of major achievement when the line has been open for thirteen years?

Thirteen years of crawling through outdated British railway infrastructure and then accelerating once on the other side of the channel and the modern French system.

It?s not something to celebrate ? it is a complete embarrassment.
 

[Snoopy]

What does it matter anyway?
So long as you get there in one piece ~ what is this obsession with getting there faster?
The scenery is pleasant, in my experience the food on Eurostar is excellent and the wine is good.
Lunch eaten on route to/from Paris is as good a way of spending three hours as I can imagine and if it takes four hours there's time for a post prandial nap as well.
What is the point of rushing to get to London and then have to spend hours getting anywhere from there?

[Barman]

What does it matter anyway?
So long as you get there in one piece ~ what is this obsession with getting there faster?
The scenery is pleasant, in my experience the food on Eurostar is excellent and the wine is good.
Lunch eaten on route to/from Paris is as good a way of spending three hours as I can imagine and if it takes four hours there's time for a post prandial nap as well.
What is the point of rushing to get to London and then have to spend hours getting anywhere from there?

Indeed ? it cost six billion and shaves 20 minutes from the journey time. 

[Nick]

I have been on Eurostar once. We crawled through South London and Kent. Stopped in the midst of fields for ages, got through the tunnel and hit max speed in France. The (French) train guy came on and said, "We are now doing 250 KPH................Welcome to FRANCE."

I took his point. Frog bastard.

[Barman]

I have been on Eurostar once. We crawled through South London and Kent. Stopped in the midst of fields for ages, got through the tunnel and hit max speed in France. The (French) train guy came on and said, "We are now doing 250 KPH................Welcome to FRANCE."

I took his point. Frog bastard.

You should have said 'you're welcome to it mate'!
 

[Misunderstood]

Eurostar has set a speed record on its inaugural journey from Paris to London via a new high-speed line.
The train arrived at St Pancras, instead of Waterloo, for the first time.

What?

Were they going so fast that they overshot Waterloo?

How much time was spent getting back to Waterloo where the girlfriend was waiting under the clock, I wonder?

[Berek]