You can now board a train in London and a few hours later get off by the Mediterranean.

You can now board a train in London and a few hours later get off by the Mediterranean - the new direct service between St Pancras and Marseille is the furthest passengers have ever been able to go on a train from Britain without getting off. But why, more than 20 years after the Channel Tunnel opened, have direct services to the rest of Europe been so slow arriving?Realising you've missed any train is unwelcome but missing the 15:22 from Marseille Saint-Charles to London Saint Pancras would be…