21st Europe’s Starline network plans to connect 39 destinations in European countries – with lines reaching the UK, Turkey and Ukraine too.
Dozens of rail routes launched in recent years are making it easier to journey across European country borders.
But a newly announced proposal from a Copenhagen-based think tank has a much more ambitious plan for the continent’s train connections.
21st Europe’s blueprint envisages a Europe-wide high-speed rail network that would function like a metro or tube system.
Named Starline, it hopes to reinvent the continent’s “fragmented, uneven, often slow” rail infrastructure and introduce ultra-fast connections to rival air travel.
“A truly integrated rail system is no longer just a matter of convenience; it’s a strategic necessity for Europe’s resilience in the 21st century,” the think tank states.
“Designed like a metro system, [Starline] changes how Europeans perceive their own continent – not as a collection of distant capitals, but as a single, fast-moving network where every connection, whether for people or goods, is within easy reach.”
21st Europe is aiming to have the network running by 2040 – but how realistic is their vision?
Building a Europe-wide metro system
There’s no denying a Europe-wide rail system would be hugely popular with travellers.
“From the golden age of night trains to today’s 400,000+ Interrail users annually, the desire for open, accessible travel is clear,” the think tank says. “Yet, despite public demand, cross-border travel remains fragmented, slow, and expensive.”
Already in the works is the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), a European Union initiative which aims to unify infrastructure across the continent.
