More than 1.6 million passengers have now journeyed between London and the Netherlands since the inaugural service left London St Pancras International in April 2018.

This, according to Eurostar, equates to in excess of 10,000 aircraft loads, with a single passenger’s carbon footprint from a London-Amsterdam flight estimated to be equivalent to seven Eurostar journeys.

The European rail operator said the route, which now operates four-times-daily, illustrated the massive carbon savings that come from switching from air travel to rail travel.

Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar Group chief executive, said the growth in Eurostar services was "testament to the ever-growing demand for high-speed rail connections as a sustainable and convenient alternative to air travel".

Cazenave added it was Eurostar’s ambition to carry 30 million passengers a year across all of its routes by 2030. The operator said the number of UK passengers connecting via Brussels since 2018 has more than doubled since 2018. Its direct London-Amsterdam/Rotterdam service got under way in October 2020.

Wilbert Lek, managing director of Rotterdam Partners, added the increase in direct London services was supporting the city’s mission to promote sustainable business and leisure travel.