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World-renowned chef Raymond Blanc led the celebrations as the first ever direct train from London to Amsterdam arrived at its destination, much to the jubilation of passengers who managed to bag themselves a ticket.

The much-anticipated service set off from St Pancras at 8.31am, and arrived in the Dutch capital six minutes late at 1.18pm local time.

With tickets starting at £35 each way, Eurostar hopes the new city centre to city centre route will be a major competitor to one of Europe’s busiest international air routes.

Excited passengers took to social media to share pictures of the historic journey, on which chef Blanc provided the catering.

First London-Amsterdam Eurostar 10 show all First London-Amsterdam Eurostar 1/10 Passengers board the first Eurostar service from London to Amsterdam 2/10 Passengers enjoy themselves as the train hurtles towards Amsterdam 3/10 Passengers amuse themselves during the journey 3 hour 47 minutes 4/10 A man takes a selfie next to the new Eurostar train 5/10 Raymond Blanc samples some nibbles 6/10 French celebrity chef Raymond Blanc provided the catering on the train journey 7/10 Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc with Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper 8/10 Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc with Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper 9/10 Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper 10/10 Eurostar hopes the new city centre to city centre route will take some of the market share currently held by airlines 1/10 Passengers board the first Eurostar service from London to Amsterdam 2/10 Passengers enjoy themselves as the train hurtles towards Amsterdam 3/10 Passengers amuse themselves during the journey 3 hour 47 minutes 4/10 A man takes a selfie next to the new Eurostar train 5/10 Raymond Blanc samples some nibbles 6/10 French celebrity chef Raymond Blanc provided the catering on the train journey 7/10 Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc with Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper 8/10 Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc with Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper 9/10 Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper 10/10 Eurostar hopes the new city centre to city centre route will take some of the market share currently held by airlines

Earlier Mark Smith, founder of rail website The Man In Seat 61, wrote: "Eurostar's first public departure from London to Amsterdam is ready to leave."

He described the new service as a "game-changer for London-Amsterdam", adding "It's taken a while to implement it, but the wait has been worth it."

Passengers on the first service were given a tote bag featuring an image of a tulip, with Twitter users marvelling at the "flags" and "stroopwafels" as the train hurtled towards the European mainland.

And during the journey they were also well catered for, with a fry-up and later cheese and saucisson on the menu.

The train passed through Brussels and Rotterdam on its way to Amsterdam.

The journey from London to Rotterdam was bang on time, taking three hours and one minute.

And the train rolled into Amsterdam Central Station this afternoon, greeted with much fanfare, after a journey that lasted three hours and 47 minutes

Return journeys will involve a change of trains in Brussels as the Dutch authorities have not yet completed arrangements for passport checks at Amsterdam station.

This will increase the return journey time to up to four hours 49 minutes. This is expected to be in place by the end of next year.

Eurostar has described this as a "temporary measure" while the governments in the UK and the Netherlands complete an agreement to allow checks to be carried out on departure in Amsterdam.

Two trains a day will depart London and 8.31am and 5.31pm, with new Eurostar terminals having been built in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper said: "The departure of our first commercial service to Amsterdam represents a historic milestone for Eurostar and the growth of international high-speed rail.

"With the Netherlands becoming increasingly popular as a business and tourism destination, the potential for our new route is significant and we look forward to offering our customers a fast, seamless connection between these key European cities."