EUROSTAR trains will not be stopping at Waterloo International from 2007.

In a shock announcement that will disappoint some travellers, the high-speed rail operator between London, Paris and Brussels said it would be switching all its services to the refurbished St Pancras International station.

The move will take place with the opening of the second section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between North West Kent and St Pancras.

In a separate announcement, Eurostar said it wanted Ebbsfleet International Station, under construction on a site between Dartford and Gravesend, to be re-named Dartford International, and revealed that it would offer 9,000 parking spaces.

Eurostar chiefs said the decision to concentrate on St Pancras would benefit cities north of London and benefit domestic passengers in the south of England as more capacity was made available at Waterloo.

They also claimed there would be greater connectivity, serving Midland Mainline, Thameslink, GNER and WAGN services.

More importantly, the move will save the company money, enabling it to pass on savings to customers.

The announcement was made on the 10th anniversary of the launch of Eurostar. The CTRL will shave at least 40 minutes off return journey times, with the time to Paris taking 2h 15m and 1h 53m to Brussels.

Paul Charles, Eurostar’s director of communications, said: "After conducting extensive research, we have concluded that the benefits of moving the whole of Eurostar's operation to St. Pancras International substantially outweigh the need to operate a handful of services from Waterloo.

“This move will bring many new passengers for Eurostar from other parts of London and the South East, the Midlands and Yorkshire and, additionally, benefit domestic commuters using Waterloo."

Eurostar recently announced record market share and passenger numbers. Eurostar carried 6.046 million passengers in the 10 months to the end of October, up 16.2 per cent on the year before (5.203 million).

Market share on the London-Paris route is now 68 per cent and 63 per cent on the London-Brussels route - the highest in Eurostar's history.

Eurostar has carried more than 59 million passengers between London, Ashford, Calais, Lille, Paris, Brussels, Disneyland Paris, Avignon and the French Alps since services started on November 14, 1994.

Paul Charles, the company’s director of communications, told KM-fm this is good news for Kent commuters…