THE new era of high-speed rail travel through Kent - dubbed the Gateway to Europe - has been tipped to bring more jobs and business to the county.

Officials promoting the county as a great place for firms used the launch of international services - High Speed 1 - from St Pancras International to spell out its likely impact on the local economy.

Eurostar services were switched overnight from Waterloo International on Tuesday and the first service left St Pancras International at 11.01am on Wednesday.

St Pancras was restored to its former Victorian glory at a cost of £800million and officially re-opened by the Queen on November 6.

Most of the benefit for Kent will come from the opening of Ebbsfleet International, just off the A2 between Gravesend and Dartford, on Monday.

It will mean Lille can be reached in 1h10m, Brussels in 1h 41m and Paris in just over two hours.

High-speed domestic services are due to start in December 2009, slashing journey times between several Kent towns and the capital.

A planned commercial complex close to Ebbsfleet Station will create thousands of jobs over the next 20 years.

Paul Wookey, chief executive of Locate in Kent said: "Kent is now the gateway to Europe and we expect to see increased interest from foreign–owned and London-based companies locating to Kent."

Stephen Jordan, managing director of London & Continental Railways, the company behind High Speed 1 and the building of Ebbsfleet International, said: "This part of Kent has, until now, been far too remote from London.

"However, the power of high speed rail transforms geography."

But for many Kent passengers, used to the convenience of travelling to Ashford International, which will now have a reduced service, Ebbsfleet is hard to reach.

The county lost a fierce campaign to persuade Eurostar to retain stopping services at Ashford and reverse its decision to axe Brussels services.