Queen lets train take the strain

The Queen made her first state visit by train today when she took the Eurostar to Paris.

She and Prince Philip left London Waterloo at 11.13am for a three-day tour to mark the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France. Before departing, the Queen named the train - its nose painted with the Union flag and the Tricolore - after the landmark 1904 treaty.

The royal party, along with 250 London schoolchildren and teachers taking part in a Franco-British education project, set out on a 2hrs 35mins nonstop journey via the Channel Tunnel.

Security was high as the Queen pulled up at a side entrance and made her way to the platform. Sniffer dogs checked for explosives and uniformed officers patrolled the area.

The Queen, in a peach-coloured coat and hat with black gloves, was greeted by Eurostar's chief executive Richard Brown. He said: "We are honoured that Her Majesty and Prince Philip have chosen to travel by Eurostar."

The train is the same one which reached 208mph on the Channel Tunnel link in Kent last July, breaking the British rail speed record. It is under the command of a British and a French driver: John Chalmers from Hertfordshire, and Eric Boulenger from Creil.

The Queen, who is also being accompanied by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, will speak at a state banquet after a welcome from President Jacques Chirac. After two days in Paris the royal couple will travel to Toulouse.

The Entente Cordiale, signed on 8 April 1904, was designed to settle Imperial disputes in Africa, but forged a much broader alliance.