Queen opens Channel Tunnel terminal

She was not only opening St Pancras International in London, home to Eurostar's new terminal, but also launching the finally-completed £5.8 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Known as High Speed 1, the 68-mile link runs from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel opening at Folkestone, Kent.

Arriving by car at the Hotel Arch, St Pancras station, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen was greeted by the Lord Lieutenant for Greater London, Lord Imbert.

She was introduced to dignitaries including the Prime Minister, London mayor Ken Livingstone, Conservative leader David Cameron, mayor of Camden Dawn Somper, and Sir David Cooksey, chairman of London and Continental Railways.

The Queen then made her way inside the station, stopping to look at a new 23ft tall, four-tonne sculpture, and meet the artist, British sculptor Paul Day. Entitled Meeting Place, the bronze statue, which stands over the station's platforms under the famous Dent clock, depicts a young couple embracing.

The royal party took their seats on specially-built platforms inside the station, where they were due to watch a musical and film show. The show features a performance by stage and screen actor Timothy West, appearing in Victorian costume as William Henry Barlow, the original architect of St Pancras station, and music by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

The opening ceremony also saw three trains arriving at St Pancras. Their drivers were due to meet the Queen, who was also being introduced to those who have transformed the late-Victorian station building into a 21st century terminal.

The Queen offered her "warmest congratulations" to all those involved in the renovation of St Pancras station. In a short speech to assembled guests, she said the new rail terminal, and the rail link, High Speed 1, would make a "real difference" to people's lives and bring us closer to Europe.

She said: "The remarkable re-birth of this great and gleaming station means that people across the whole of Britain, not just the South East, are suddenly quite a bit closer to Europe. From now on, Sheffield is closer to Paris, Nottingham closer to Brussels. And as we look forward to the London Olympics in 2012, it is good to know that a journey from here to the new High Speed 1 station at Stratford will take spectators a mere seven minutes. All these things will bring real differences to people's lives."