Eurostar, the high-speed international train operator, has seen a rise in passenger numbers and revenue in the first half of the year.

Sales revenues went up 7% to £453 million compared to the same period a year ago (£425m), and passenger numbers edged up 2% to 4.9 million (4.8m). The number of business travellers grew by 3%.

The service that operates high speed trains linking St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps, added more than 200 extra services between London and Paris to meet demand over the summer period

Eurostar reported a flat start to the year, blaming bad weather, but said there had been an acceleration in passenger growth in the second quarter, with traffic up 4% year-on-year. Sales revenues from bookings originating outside the EU grew by 7% in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2012.

Leisure sales revenue growth was 8% up on the same period a year ago, helped by the introduction of new routes and destinations. These include Eurostar’s first new direct service in more than 10 years - the Route du Soleil - connecting London with Lyon, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. Overall, more than 90% of capacity was sold in the trial period and during the May half term the service was sold out. Eurostar is now working on plans to introduce a fuller, all year-round service to the South of France from 2015.

Nicolas Petrovic, chief executive, said: “We have delivered a strong performance in the first half of 2013, characterised by new routes, extra services and increasing sales revenues. A trip on Eurostar continues to be a big draw for international and European travellers alike. We have seen a surge in booking from outside Europe and our new service to Provence has proved a great success with many services running at full capacity”.

He added: “The overall outlook for the business markets is more positive reflecting signs of greater economic stability, particularly in the UK. We have seen a return to more normal patterns of business travel which were impacted negatively in the first half of 2012 ahead of the opening of the London 2012 Games.”