Who wants to get from London to Paris in a hurry ?

Wolfgang Koydl was on the first Eurostar to travel the new high-speed line between London and Paris. "Starting this week, the British can now arrive 20 minutes earlier in Paris or Brussels. No one asked them whether they really wanted to be transported so speedily to the capital of the European Union they regard with such suspicion, but at least the same applies the other way round: Brits visiting the Continent can be back home quicker. ... In England you won't get any further than Wolverhampton or Nottingham in the same time - provided there are no leaves on the tracks, the switches don't get stuck or the train driver doesn't miss his shift. ... It was a moving moment when the first Eurostar glided from the platform as if pulled by a magic force. Such things may seem commonplace to train passengers on the Continent, but in Great Britain the departure of most trains is still accompanied by much whistling, shouting and joggling before the journey along the rattling tracks begins."

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