Eurostar has set a record on its inaugural journey from Paris to London via a new high-speed line in Britain.
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 68-mile line is expected to help cut times on the entire route by 20 minutes to two hours, 15 minutes when it opens to the public on 14 November.
Construction of the line and revamping St Pancras cost £5.8bn in public funds.
The high cost of the project is partly due to some major engineering challenges, including laying track to pass over the River Medway, under the River Thames and through 11 miles of tunnels beneath London.
The train left central Paris on its 306-mile (492km) journey at 0944 BST.
The BBC's Nick Higham, on board the train, said a GPS device had recorded a speed of 202mph (325km/h) in France and 195mph in Britain.
Trains will normally reach speeds of up to 186mph on the high-speed section in Britain.
The train joined the new 68-mile (110km) line, known as High Speed 1, at the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone, Kent, before arriving at St Pancras International at about 1148 BST.
It passed through the new £100m Ebbsfleet International station near Dartford, in Kent.
Ben Ruse, of London and Continental Railways, the company behind the new line, said: "It's an absolute milestone in the history of rail travel in the UK." (BBC)
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