There are a lot of things that Europe does well. A big one is traveling by train across the continent. With a number of options at the disposal of both locals and tourists, the various train systems remain the best way to make your way from country to country. But the Copenhagen think tank 21st Europe has big plans to take train travel in Europe up a few notches.
They have released plans for Starline, a massive high-speed rail system that crosses the majority of Europe, including the UK. The proposed numbers are actually quite staggering. In a good way, of course. This high-speed rail network will reach 39 stations across multiple European countries on approximately 22,000 kilometers of track. The trains will reach speeds up to 249 miles per hour, cutting travel times down dramatically.
Naturally, this will require a lot of new infrastructure to be built as well as the complete refurbishment and updating of any existing infrastructure to be repurposed. Should the project move forward in even a relatively expedient fashion, the target completion date would be in 2040. Publicly funded, privately operated, and overseen by the European Rail Authority, this new rail system would also benefit the environment. Approximately 80% of the energy would be provided by renewables.
For travelers heading to Europe or European tourists, this has the potential to change the game for all of them. Travel time between cities and countries will be cut dramatically. This means that multi-country European vacations would be more achievable than ever. For now, Starline remains a plan on the drawing board from a think tank. But if it comes to full fruition, it could revolutionize European travel in a way that completely changes the day-to-day reality of an entire continent.