by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Eurostar, the operator of international trains between London, Kent and mainland Europe, is gearing up for competition by injecting £700 million in new 200mph trains and a facelift for its existing fleet.

With the business anticipating fierce competition from new operators when the Channel Tunnel rail link is opened to new services, it wants to be in a stronger position to fight them.

Next year, Eurostar will overhaul and refurbish its fleet of trains to a design created by Pininfarina, the world-famous Italian design business renowned for its iconic car designs.

Eurostar, which is now a unified business owned by London and Continental Railways, SNCF and Belgian railway operator SNCB, is also ordering 10 new trainsets from manufacturer Siemens.

The e320 trains will be able to operate across the European high speed rail network at speeds of up to 200mph.

They will carry up to 900 passengers, 20 per cent more than existing Eurostar trains (750). The new faster trains will cut journey times between London and Paris to just over two hours, Amsterdam to just under four hours, and Geneva to around five hours.

The new trains will be equipped with wi-fi and on-board "info-tainment", including travel and destination information, video-on-demand, music and news-feeds.

Eurostar chief executive Nicolas Petrovic said: "Over the last 16 years Eurostar has revolutionised travel between the London, Paris and Brussels but our sights are now set on expanding our business across Europe. The transformation of Eurostar into a standalone business and the major capital investment announced today is a mark of our growth ambitions for the future."

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said its was good news for a company that is 40 per cent owned by the UK taxpayer.

One of the new trains is on display today alongside the Albert Memorial, opposite the Royal Albert Hall.