Eurostar carryings rose by 3.6% to 2.23 million travellers in the peak summer three months between July and September.
Ticket revenues totalled £148.5 million – an increase of 13.8% driven both by increasing numbers of business passengers and by higher demand during the Rugby World Cup in France.
Eurostar estimates that it carried at least 125,000 passengers to and from rugby matches and ran 19 extra services during the tournament carrying 13,000 additional travellers.
Business travel remained very strong, with the volume of business sales rising by 12.9% over the same period last year.
The rise in passenger numbers is expected to be boosted by the announcement today of through fares from 68 UK towns and cities to the Continent (see separate story).
