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Eurostar says beating jet rivals
 A Eurostar train at Waterloo Station in London. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England -- Eurostar said it was winning market share from rival airlines after passenger numbers rose by four per cent in the first nine months of 2005. The European high-speed train operator said it had 71 percent of the air and rail market between London and Paris in August. The company also said it took 64 percent of the London and Brussels sector -- an increase of 30 percent over the last two years. The figures, based on information compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority, emerged as the number of travelers using Eurostar grew by 4.3 percent to 5.63 million in the period to the end of September, lifting sales by 10 percent to £354 million. Director of communications Paul Charles told the UK's Press Association: "Our market share has risen to record levels on the most competitive routes in Europe." The company, which began operating cross-Channel services in November 1994, said sales benefited from improved levels of punctuality, which stood at 87 percent in the first nine months of the year. It was also helped by a buoyant business market, which offset the impact of the London bomb attacks of July 7 on tourist travel to the British capital. In 2007, Eurostar will be switching its operation from Waterloo International near the River Thames to St. Pancras, on the northern side of the London city center, when the Channel Tunnel Rail Link will have been completed. Journey times from London to Paris will be cut to two hours and 15 minutes, the company says. 
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