A Eurostar train managed to break the barriers of transportation on rails Tuesday by setting a new speed record between Paris and London.

On its inaugural journey, the train rushed through the 492-kilometre stretch in two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds! This staggering achievement was possible after the construction of a 186 miles per hour (300 kilometre per hour) high-speed line between Paris and London dubbed “High Speed 1.”

The modern 108-kilometre (67 mile) line runs from the Channel Tunnel on the British side, near Folkestone in Kent to St Pancras station central London, instead of Waterloo station. The track and station’s renovation cost 5.8 billion pounds (11.6 billion dollars).

“Today marks Britain’s entry into the European high-speed rail club. We can now run trains at high speed all the way from the Channel Tunnel to London, making journeys between cities quicker, more convenient - and far greener than flying,” Eurostar Chief Executive Richard Brown said.

Numerous personalities and journalists took part at Tuesday’s inaugural run, which began in Gare du Nord station in Paris. In order to complete the premieres, the train was driven by two drivers. A French began the journey and drove through his homeland, while a British driver steered the train in England.

The company wants to cut the journey’s duration with 20 minutes and also offer an environmental-friendly means of transport.

According to a statement released by Eurostar, the company plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions with 25 per cent for each trip by 2012. A bold desideratum that could make the train “greener” than planes, an issue which recently casted a bone between environment activists and British officials at Heathrow airport.

Meanwhile, regular services between the two European capitals will be launched on November 14, Eurostar expressing its confidence that the journey would only take two hours and 15 minutes.