Whether you’re looking to cut down on your carbon emissions or simply enjoy some stunning views, there’s no joy quite like travelling Europe by train.
Now, a completely game-changing tube-style train could revolutionise European travel across 39 stations, with at least one in every country along five main routes.
Dubbed the ‘tube for Europe,’ the proposals for Starline envisage that replacing short-haul flights with a high-speed rail network could slice emissions by a whopping 95%, while a total of 424 major cities will be connected to ports, airports and rail.
What’s more, the plans predict that there’ll be an 80% reduction in short-haul flights, while the trains themselves – spanning 22,000 km (13,670.166 miles) – will be 30% faster than cars and traditional rail routes.
So, how fast are we talking? The goal is for the core trains to be travelling at 100 miles per hour – or even faster – by 2040.
At the moment, the journey from Helsinki to Berlin takes a full day, but the Starline would slash it right down to just over three hours, as would the Kyiv to Berlin route. Consider us sold.
The project, envisaged by 21st Europe, is mainly built around EU countries, but it’ll extend beyond member states to connect regions that are both ‘economically and historically intertwined.’ With this in mind, the UK, Turkey and Ukraine are all included in the plans, as well as other Eastern European cities including Bucharest and Sofia.
Starline aims to offer a ‘tangible symbol of progress at a time when unity can feel abstract,’ with the deep blue trains – painted in the colours of the European Union – becoming ‘icons of connection’ that ‘cross borders with ease.’
And, inside the trains, there’ll be quiet zones for concentration, open areas specifically for work and socialising, family-friendly sections, and even cafes. Espresso, anyone?
‘More than a high-speed rail network, it’s a rethink of how design, technology, and culture can create infrastructure that is seamless, sustainable, and exciting. Imagine blue high-speed trains gliding effortlessly across borders, transforming a patchwork of national lines into a single, unified experience,’ the press release from 21st Europe reads.
‘Railways have never been just about transport. They are lines drawn through history and society. Starline is about redrawing them—not to divide, but to connect. To make a continent feel whole again.’
So, how do we book our tickets? The network will operate on a unified, AI-driven ticketing system, which will allow ‘multiple travel providers, digital services, and third-party platforms to integrate directly.’
The Starline isn’t the only train-related news opening up new travel avenues for Europe.
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In the south of Denmark, just above the Baltic Sea, a ‘game-changing’ construction project is taking place that could change the face of European tourism forever: the Fehmarnbelt tunnel.
Opening in 2029, it’s set to connect the Danish island of Lolland with the German island of Fehmarn, bridging a gap measuring 11.2 miles to the tune of a whopping €7,400,000,000 (£6,200,000,000).
It’ll see two lanes built for both freight and commuter traffic, as well as two railway lines, slashing journey times down to 10 minutes by car and seven minutes by rail, reaching speeds of 125 miles per hour.
Currently, the journey on the ferry between the two countries is 45 minutes – and tourists wanting to travel between the likes of Hamburg in northern Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, currently need to spend five hours on a train.
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