April the 24th, 2025 – Very ambitious plans for the Tube for Europe project are set to alter the way we travel across mainland Europe and the UK and Ireland, and Croatia is involved.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/VL/Goran Sudar writes, several days, plans were revealed for a super fast rail network called the Tube for Europe, and Croatia is on the map. These plans would completely alter the way we travel. Using these trains in the form of a metro would significantly shorten travel times to major European destinations and allow departures from the British cities of London, Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast, reports Politika.
“The Starline plan, its vision, research and orchestration, was developed by the think-tank 21st Europe. We work with the best European minds to come up with designs that stimulate conversations and inspire optimism for Europe’s next chapter. The design was designed in collaboration with Bakken & Bæck, a technology design studio specialising in digital products, brand identity and future-oriented innovation. With offices in Oslo, Amsterdam, Bonn, London and Barcelona. They partnered with Culte Commune in Paris for the design. The Starline plan is based on expert insights into mobility, infrastructure and European policy, providing a sustainable framework, not just a vision,” it is stated on the official website of the aforementioned company.
finally improving europe’s rail transport
The project is being presented primarily as an innovative solution for improving rail transport across Europe. Other information and details about the exact location or a possible event at which this concept will be first presented aren’t yet available.
As the company stated in the description, the Tube for Europe project promises train speeds of up to 400 kilometres per hour. This will result in far shorter journeys. Travellers from Helsinki will be able to reach Berlin, for example, in a mere three hours, while today this route takes an entire day. Similarly, the journey between Kiev and Berlin, which is traditionally an overnight journey, would become a “seamless connection”.
The plan envisages the connecting all European countries, including the United Kingdom and Ireland. It also foresees each European country having at least one dedicated railway station, with the network covering all parts of Europe, from Portugal down to Turkey and all the way across to Ukraine.
train stations away from the city centre
The train stations of this new network would be cultural centres and would be located outside of the heart of the cities themselves. These stations, according to the plan, will be active public spaces with cultural facilities, squares and events, thus becoming destinations in their own right.
The visual identity of the Tube for Europe network would rely on the colour blue, inspired by the logo of the European Union, to emphasise the European character of this ambitious transport project. The aim is for the blue trains to become a recognisable symbol, like the red double-decker buses in London or the yellow taxis in New York.
Within the compositions, there will be different zones adapted to the needs of passengers. The so-called quiet zones are intended for those who want to work or focus. They will have open spaces for conversation and socialising, family zones with child-friendly facilities. There will also be so-called cafe zones, where passengers will be able to enjoy refreshments during the journey.
In addition to passenger transport, Starline is also planning a freight rail network that would enable faster transport of goods across Europe and improve logistics.
As things currently stand, the Tube for Europe project is only in its concept form, but the company hopes that the project will be financed from the EU’s budget, as well as from national governments.
the tube for europe project hasn’t left croatia in the dust
According to information available to the British media, plans for a high-speed rail network envisage that every European country will have at least one station, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The current plan is to construct as many as five corridors for these particular trains, and they’ll marked with the letters A, B, C, D and E. The Tube for Europe project envisages Croatia being located in Corridor B, which runs from Lisbon in Portugal all the way to Kiev in Ukraine. The station will be located in Sarajevo in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and, according to the published map, part of the corridor linking Zagreb and Rome should partly go under the Adriatic Sea. That will certainly pose a serious construction challenge with likely push back.
a pricey plan
Precise data on the total costs of building the Tube for Europe is currently not available, given that the project is still in the concept phase. However, for comparison, similar infrastructure projects across Europe have significant budgets. The construction of the 57.5-kilometre Mont d’Ambin/Mont Cenis base tunnel between France and Italy, for example, is estimated at around 8 billion euros. Given the scale and complexity of this gigantic European metro project, the total costs are expected to be significantly higher, but precise estimates will be available only after detailed studies and planning are carried out.
