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London Unveils Hip Rail Station

St. Pancras gets a spruce-up, new high-speed link to the Chunnel

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 7, 2007 2:01 PM CST

(Newser) – London's St. Pancras train station has gotten a nifty £800 million (nearly $1.7 billion) renovation and a new high-speed rail link to the Chunnel, the Times of London reports. Queen Elizabeth and assorted celebrities officially opened the new route last night with pomp and theatricals; the head of France's rail network called the Victorian gem possibly the world's best station.

The new link knocks 20 minutes off the trip to Paris. "The remarkable reverse of this great and gleaming station means that people across the whole of Britain are suddenly quite a bit closer to Europe,” her Majesty said. Work on the renovation and the new route has been ongoing for nearly 10 years.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II  looks at a gift of replica of the St Pancras train station clock as she visits the station to officially open the new St Pancras International Station in London, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007.  Eurostar train services to Paris and Brussels will officially begin operating from the...
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II looks at a gift of replica of the St Pancras train station clock as she visits the station to officially open the new St Pancras International Station in London, Tuesday,...   (Associated Press)
Eurostar trains at the platforms after Britain's Queen Elizabeth II officially opened St Pancras International station in London on Tuesday Nov. 6, 2007. The station escaped demolition in the 1960s thanks to a campaign led by Sir John Betjeman, the poet laureate. The Queen not only opened the new home...
Eurostar trains at the platforms after Britain's Queen Elizabeth II officially opened St Pancras International station in London on Tuesday Nov. 6, 2007. The station escaped demolition in the 1960s thanks...   (Associated Press)
A view of the new St. Pancras International Station, which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II,  in London, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007.   Eurostar train services to the European cities of Paris and Brussels will officially begin operating from the terminal next week via the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.  (AP...
A view of the new St. Pancras International Station, which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, in London, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007. Eurostar train services to the European cities of Paris and...   (Associated Press)
A screen in St. Pancras train station shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II  giving a speech as she officially opens the new St Pancras International Station in London, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007.  Eurostar train services to the european cities of Paris and Brussels will officially begin operating from the terminal next...
A screen in St. Pancras train station shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II giving a speech as she officially opens the new St Pancras International Station in London, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007. Eurostar train...   (Associated Press)
A band plays music shortly after an inaugural service Eurostar train arrived at the new refurbished St Pancras train station  in central London, Tuesday Sept. 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
A band plays music shortly after an inaugural service Eurostar train arrived at the new refurbished St Pancras train station in central London, Tuesday Sept. 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)   (Associated Press)
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