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Rail operator Eurostar has announced that its passenger numbers increased at a year-on-year rate of 21% in the first quarter of this year, leading to a record 2.17m passengers.

A number of factors contributed to the growth, the company said, including an early Easter this year, the extra day in February and the Six Nations rugby tournament.

Eurostar also announced a record punctuality rate of 93.6% of trains leaving on time or within 15 minutes of their planned departure time.

The period between January and March this year was the first full three-month phase of journeys on the operator's high-speed rail link between St Pancras International and the Channel Tunnel.

Eurostar suggested that the success of the connection could relate to a growing sense of eco-responsibility among travellers, referring to a YouGov survey claiming that most people are now concerned about the environmental impact of short-haul journeys.

Richard Brown, chief executive of the company, 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.'

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