New high-speed train network could link every single capital city in Europe

A train passing buildings and a church on a bridge in Stockholm. Sweden.
Travel around Europe will get even easier (Picture: Getty Images)

Colourful Barcelona. Romantic Paris. Cool Copenhagen.

With so many vibrant cities to explore in Europe, it’s hard to know which one to pick for your next break.

But now, plans could be approved for a high-speed rail network that means you won’t have to choose.

The European High-Speed Rail Network is an ambitious project, which aims to connect all major EU cities.

It will cover a staggering 49,400km of track, with trains that could travel up to 350km per hour. To compare, the Eurostar currently travels at top speeds of 300km per hour.

It means that journey times will be cut — making rail travel quicker than short-haul flights — and tourists could travel between cities with ease.

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While the European High-Speed Rail Network is still in its very early stages, the project has been described as ‘one of its biggest transportation revolutions’ in Europe.

Rear view of a man with backpack walking between train on train station
It will take 20 years to complete (Picture: Getty Images)

At an estimated cost of €546 billion, the masterplan is set to be unveiled later this month by the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER), a group which promotes rail transport to EU policymakers.

This won’t happen overnight though. It’s thought that the project will take at least 20 years to complete, meaning trains are unlikely to be running until 2045.

The CER’s executive director, Alberto Mazzola, said he expects the European Commission to announce their support for the scheme later this month.

While at a conference in Athens, he said he believed the plans were ‘feasible’.

He said: ‘We would like all capitals in Europe to be connected by high-speed trains.’

Speaking to Euronews, he added: ‘All large cities and urban agglomerations of around 250,000 inhabitants, such as Thessaloniki , should also be involved.

‘And the cities, the important cities along the line with fewer inhabitants, should also benefit.’

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