Eurostar used for deployment of British troops for the first time

Eurostar was used to transport troops from London on April 28 when soldiers from the 4th Light Brigade arrived at St Pancras for the first leg of their deployment to Estonia.

The troops, and their equipment, were travelling to eastern Europe as part of a critical training exercise called Exercise Hedgehog to practice rapid defence of NATO territory in northern Europe.

Soldiers travelled to Brussels by Eurostar before continuing the rest of their journey by rail. In total they covered 2,533km in under 48 hours to their training site in an Estonian wood.

The 4th Light Brigade Combat Team, known as The Black Rats, is the first such brigade to travel by Eurostar when being deployed on operational tasks.