Feb. 25, 2008 - The number of travelers using the Eurostar high-speed rail service for travel between London and Paris has jumped by nearly a third over the past two years, and "a significant part of that growth comes from companies wishing to switch to greener modes of transport," according to Eurostar CEO Richard Brown.

Speaking at a climate change conference on Friday, Brown predicted Europe will double the length of its high-speed track by 2018. Brown also called for the EU to tighten emissions regulations on the airline industry.

Eurostar carried a record 8.26 million travelers in 2007, an increase of 5% from the previous year.

In November, Eurostar launched a program to offset 100% of the carbon emissions from its rail service.