Yugoslav Futurist Infrastructure: The Restart of Trains
Written on 8 January 2025 by Andrijan Apostoloski
Designing an alternative reality where Yugoslavia joined after the WW3, and continued the path forward into a futuristic socialist society. Now, designing the Yugoslav society step by step will be an interesting task that will include posters, propaganda, advertising, products, society infrastructure, imaginary buildings and institutions, etc. We love daydreaming, and we love crafting this. And also we love Yugoslavia and we miss it so much, we need to create it on our own through digital means so we get to daydream we live there in that beautiful and peaceful society. This takes a little bit of role-playing and the current year of writing is 2035. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Edvard Kardelj Train Station, Belgrade
The Edvard Kardelj train station in the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, was opened in 2035, 10 years after WW3 has ended. It was designed to be the mass transportation centre above grounds that will connect Belgrade with all major cities in Yugoslavia, but also all European and other international cities which the Yugoslav lands are connected through rails. On this train station which is much bigger than the initial photos show, there are three levels with individual train tracks which go and simply create these beautiful and cozy mazes of interior spaces inside it, that it gives every passenger an experience of its own just being there.
Surrounded with a specially lacquered walnut wood, raw concrete in a Yugoslav brutalist style and much greenery surrounding the exterior, the Edvard Kardelj train station is an architectural marvel that brings the aesthetics of the futurism back into the correct track.
The main interior hall is surrounded by marble, wood and big ceilings that are mostly in raw concrete. This creates a very cozy and spacious feeling giving the station a very calm and peaceful state of being. It is also a silent train station without any announcements made on speakers. Throughout the day, natural light takes a beautiful lit and huge atmospheric hall into an almost utopic state.
The halls that connect the main entry to the train line are also made in a similar style.
Outside the station, high visible ceilings with ambience of people waiting for their trains.
Train stations outside of Belgrade
After WW3, Yugoslavia started to invest a lot in the public transportation sector making trains one of the most accessible and fastest way of transport, interconnecting all cities and many rural places that priorly haven’t been able to get this sort of transport. With the additional growth of the countries success and continuation of the socialist future that Marshal Tito and the partisans which sacrificed themselves for us in WW2, now many cities have seen a huge boost in citizens coming back from foreign countries, so these sort of smaller train stations than the main Edvard Kardelj one were built, and every one of them is unique with flares of design that matches the city or location they’re at.
The Yugoslav leadership decided to aim towards having the best public transportation by 2050 in Europe, however, even at the time of these pictures being taken and these train stations being operational, a lot of tourists and internationally acclaimed organisations have given very positive feedback regarding the unusual, very warm and very accessible public transport which is always on time, its very frequent and makes usage of a car in a big city almost not needed. It connects parts of the city that are 50km away on the ground, however also under it at times, making the Yugoslav public train system one of the most unique in Europe.
It was very important for the industrial designers however also the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to state that they won’t be interfering with propaganda on such public places where a lot of foreigners are expected to arrive, however, keep the ideological and political stance active and broadcast in other means where it wouldn’t be forced on the regular citizens, workers and international tourists.
The intercity trains are long and they are powered by an original Yugoslav built electric train which runs on a new system of torque which Yugoslav electricity engineers have developed for the state public system. So far both the engine carriers or locomotives and the wagons have been proven to be so successful, the Yugoslav factory that builds them got order for a US-spec variant for Chicago. More orders are expected for massive cities in Europe next year.
