Channel Tunnel rail operator Eurostar celebrated its fifth birthday yesterday by claiming to have replaced airlines as the most popular method of travelling from London to Paris and Brussels.
The Eurostar group, which runs high-speed rail links between the three capitals, also released strong interim sales figures.
But the British part of the group warned it would still not be profitable until 2005 at the earliest.
However, the group as a whole had overcome a host of problems to beset the landmark project and argued that the 25 million passengers who have used the service were proof of a revolution in travel between Britain and mainland Europe.
"The `Eurostar effect' goes far beyond travel alone," said group chairman Mr David Azema.
"By encouraging millions of leisure travellers to journey between Britain and France and Belgium . . . Eurostar has contributed to the forging of positive social, cultural and economic links."
Eurostar said it now commanded a 60 per cent share of the London-Paris market and was also the market leader on the London-Brussels route.
This year's financial performance has been "particularly strong", Eurostar said, as sales for the first nine months of the year exceeded £297.6 million sterling (€468 million), 6 per cent more than the corresponding figure in 1998.
"This very encouraging result was achieved through a combination of powerful promotional offers . . . and significantly better punctuality than the airlines," said chief executive officer designate Mr Hamish Taylor.
To mark the anniversary of its introduction, Eurostar presented a new raft of promotions, including a weekend "night clubber" return ticket for £29 (€45) for those who want a change of scene, and country, on Saturday night.
Eurostar, which is co-owned by French, Belgian and British operating arms, has laboured under a string of start-up problems since its arrival including massive debts, the delay of the British portion of the high-speed link, and marketplace pressure presented by new low-cost, no-frills airlines.
