The number of people travelling on Eurostar rose to a record 2.17 million in the first quarter of 2008, the high speed train operator has announced.

The UK to mainland Europe operator said the number of travellers rose by 21.3 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Ticket revenues increased by 25.2% to £178.4 million during the three months.

A statement said reasons for the rise included the introduction of High Speed 1, the new ‘carbon neutral’ 186mph line between St Pancras International and the Channel Tunnel.

Richard Brown, Eurostar, chief executive said: "We are delighted at the public’s ever growing desire to travel by Eurostar. It shows that High Speed 1 and our fabulous new stations are capturing people’s imagination, combined with the fast, reliable and green advantages of our high-speed trains.

"I am pleased that we are making progress on our Tread Lightly environmental initiative. As I said a year ago, we don’t have all the answers, but we are chipping away at reducing our environmental impact and we will keep at it, right across the business.

"What’s great is that both our staff and our travellers are doing their bit and making a difference. We all have a duty to act."