Starline project: a “European metro” to revolutionize travel in Europe by 2040

Written by Sophie Renassia

Published on May 7, 2025, modified on September 1, 2025

Photo : © Starline

Going to Budapest from Paris via the “Madrid-Istanbul” line, or to Athens from Lyon via the “Lisbon-Kyiv” line, as if you were taking the metro? It could soon be possible. With its 22,000 km of tracks, the Starline project aims to create a true European rail network - fast, seamless, and low-carbon - by 2040. What do we know about this project? How could it revolutionize rail travel in Europe? Is it realistic or downright utopian? And why should it be taken with a grain of salt? We'll explain everything.

Updated 26 August 2025. Since the spring, the Starline project has become clearer: it is a blueprint — a design and governance proposal — developed by the Copenhagen-based think tank 21st Europe. The date 2040 should be understood as a milestone for initial sections, rather than a complete, uniform network going live by that year.

The Starline project: a continent-scale “European metro”

A network that connects all of Europe (and beyond)

Imagine a rail network linking 39 major European cities — and reaching the UK, Turkey and Ukraine — across 22,000 kilometres of modern lines. That’s the ambition of Starline, conceived as a metro at continental scale: clearly identifiable lines, a consistent experience from one country to the next, and the promise of simplicity both for connections and for buying a ticket.

The aim is to make rail faster and clearer over long distances, targeting speeds of 300–400 km/h and shorter journey times (for example, Helsinki–Berlin in about 5 hours). In concrete terms, 21st Europe presents Starline as a structuring vision for Europe: build on what already exists and on planned projects, but knit them together through shared design, service standards and governance, so that rail becomes the natural way to cross the continent.

More than a rail network: a unified vision of travel

Starline isn’t only about drawing lines on a map; it proposes a common travel experience across borders. The blueprint highlights a unified design (trains, stations, signage), far greater legibility for connections and, over time, simplified timetables and ticketing to make the current cross-border “patchwork” disappear. The watchword is coherence: build on what’s there, connect what already works, and harmonise what doesn’t — so that rail is the obvious choice for 500–1,500 km journeys.

Entering service by 2040 (if everything lines up)

The year 2040 was used as a reference point in the initial communications, but it’s best read as a milestone: the realistic target, for now, is to open flagship sections by then, with a ramp-up afterwards. Without a formal decision from EU institutions, that timetable remains indicative and will depend on political choices, funding, and technical harmonisation that is still incomplete.

Why Starline could transform European rail

Faster, better-connected journeys

On long-distance routes, the proposed 300–400 km/h speeds and optimised connections would make rail competitive with flying. That’s the core promise: sharply reduce total travel time between major cities and turn arduous odysseys into smooth, metro-like journeys.

Simplified cross-border connections

The strength of the blueprint lies in the idea of central coordination — timetables, passenger information, service standards. The ambition is to smooth away rail borders, so crossing three countries isn’t any harder than changing lines on a metro. At this stage it’s a vision carried by 21st Europe, not an EU-adopted architecture; but it pinpoints the real cross-border pain points.

Financed by Europe, operated by member states

Coverage in the press and in presentation materials sketches a franchise-style model: national operators would run services within a common framework, under European-level supervision, backed by substantial public funding. The idea blends operational efficiency with unified oversight — a prerequisite to deliver the promised punctuality and simplicity at continental scale.

© Starline - 21st Europe

A project with clear limits: a utopia on rails?

Ambitious… but still highly theoretical

Let’s keep a cool head: no construction site exists under the Starline banner, and there is no official EU green light sealing the blueprint. Starline is a proposal designed by 21st Europe to spark debate and accelerate public decision-making. In other words, it’s a structured, inspiring vision that still needs robust political backing to move from concept to implementation.

In that context, announcing service for 2040 may sound optimistic — especially when far smaller rail projects can take decades to deliver.

Complex governance to put in place

Coordinating timetables, fares, distribution and track access across 27 national systems demands a strong governing authority able to enforce shared technical and service standards. Yet Europe’s rail landscape remains fragmented — power systems, signalling, rolling-stock approvals, loading gauges. Without clear governance, the promise of a “European metro” would remain theoretical. That’s precisely what the blueprint wants on the political agenda.

Funding still to be clarified

A mesh of around 22,000 km implies colossal investment and careful phasing. Today there’s no dedicated envelope, nor a detailed, binding schedule. The key will be to prioritise the highest-impact corridors (where rail can replace short-haul flights quickly) to prove the model’s value and justify subsequent budget commitments.

And what about the environmental impact?

Building, upgrading and electrifying at scale has an environmental cost — land, materials, construction sites. To match climate objectives, Starline will need to maximise modal shift and guarantee 100% renewable power over time; otherwise, the carbon equation will be less favourable than claimed. The blueprint puts this at the heart of its promise, but delivery will make or break it.

Bye-bye slow travel?

Acceleration and a smoother experience are appealing. But many travellers value feeling the distance, the border crossings and the encounters that slower journeys enable. As we often hear from low-carbon travel enthusiasts on our podcast, appreciating the distance covered and the change of countries is part of the joy. Speeding up and erasing borders looks great on paper; over-smoothing the experience could chip away at the magic of the journey. Starline therefore poses a question of meaning: how do we go faster without erasing what makes travel special?

Written by Sophie Renassia

Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).

Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.