Final call for Waterloo Eurostar

Eurostar services will now terminate at St Pancras

The last Eurostar train out of London Waterloo has left, 13 years - almost to the day - after the first.

From Wednesday St Pancras, recently refurbished at a cost of £800m, will become the new home of high-speed rail services to the continent.

Waterloo's award-winning terminal is expected to be used to take the burden off existing services to Surrey.

The first Eurostar left Waterloo on 14 November 1994 and the last departed at 1812 GMT on 13 November.

The £130m station, with its striking snaking glass roof and designed by Nicholas Grimshaw, was widely admired.

Regional services

It won the best building prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects for its "power and elegance" in 1994.

The terminal will remain in Eurostar's hands for the next six months before it is handed over to the Department for Transport (DfT).

The millions of travellers that we have brought through our terminal have helped in the local regeneration of the Waterloo and South Bank areas Richard Brown Eurostar In Pictures: Eurostar says goodbye to Waterloo

"We are working with DfT to bring Waterloo into full domestic use," said a spokesman for rail infrastructure firm Network Rail.

He said there would be a phased introduction of regional services, starting from November 2008.

Speaking about using all five platforms for domestic routes, a spokesman for DfT said: "We're also looking at how Waterloo can be used to expand capacity right across the South Western franchise."

Waterloo Sunset

Farewell celebrations at Waterloo include live music and local dance and theatre performances under the theme of the Kinks' hit song Waterloo Sunset.

The last Eurostar train left Waterloo on time

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said: "We are celebrating 13 momentous years since the birth of Eurostar.

"The millions of travellers that we have brought through our terminal have also helped in the local regeneration of the Waterloo and South Bank areas."

The first train out of St Pancras on Wednesday will be a VIP service to Paris Gare du Nord, leaving at 1101 GMT.

The first fare-paying service leaves for Brussels at 1104 GMT.

Eurostar said it was confident a major strike in France by transport workers would not affect its services.

A Eurostar spokesman said: "We are confident that our services will not be disrupted, although passengers taking other forms of public transport after arriving in Paris must be prepared for delays."