Fehmarnbelt Tunnel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Fehmarn Belt fixed link ( da, Femern Bælt-forbindelsen, german: Fehmarnbelt-Querung) or Fehmarn Belt tunnel is an under-construction
immersed tunnel An immersed tube (or immersed tunnel) is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments, constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked together. They are commonly used for road and rail crossings of r ...
, which will connect the Danish island of
Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...
with the German island of
Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...
, crossing the
Fehmarn Belt Fehmarn Belt (), (, former spelling ''Femer Bælt''; ) is a strait connecting the Bay of Kiel and the Bay of Mecklenburg in the western part of the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Ferries oper ...
in the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. It will provide a direct link between northern Germany and Lolland, and from there to the Danish island of
Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...
and
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, becoming the ''world's longest road and rail tunnel.'' The tunnel will be a major connection between
central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
and
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
. It will shorten the travel time between Lolland and Fehmarn from 45 minutes by ferry (excluding waiting and boarding time) to 10 minutes by car and seven minutes by train. The electrified
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
line will be capable of reaching . The project had a first financial volume of €5.5 billion, €7.4 billion when the State Treaty of Denmark and Germany was adopted in 2010, and recently approximately €10 billion (2022). The tunnel will replace a heavily travelled ferry service from
Rødby Rødby is a town, with a population of 1,983 (1 January 2022),Puttgarden is a ferry harbour and a village on the German island of Fehmarn. It lies on an important route between Germany and Denmark known as the Vogelfluglinie which crosses the strait, the Fehmarnbelt, to Rødby on the island of Lolland. Overview ...
, currently operated by
Scandlines Scandlines is a ferry company that operates the Rødby–Puttgarden and Gedser–Rostock ferry routes between Denmark and Germany. Scandlines owns 7 ferries, 6 of which are hybrid ferries, making Scandlines the owner of the world's largest fl ...
, a route known in German as the ''
Vogelfluglinie The (German) or (Danish) is a transport corridor between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Hamburg, Germany. As the Danish and German names (literally: '' bird flight line'') imply, the corridor is also an important bird migration route between arctic ...
'' and in Danish as '' Fugleflugtslinjen''. Fehmarn is connected with the German mainland by the
Fehmarn Sound Bridge The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (german: Fehmarnsundbrücke) connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode. Description The crossing includes the network arch bridge which carries road and rail ...
, and Lolland is connected by a tunnel and bridges with Zealand via the island of
Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.
. Zealand in turn is connected with the Swedish mainland via the
Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
. There is also a fixed connection between Zealand and Germany via the
Great Belt Bridge The Great Belt Bridge ( da, Storebæltsbroen) or Great Belt fixed link ( da, Storebæltsforbindelsen) is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt strait between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension ...
to
Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
and
Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is expected to be completed in 2029.


Bridge proposal

Initially, a bridge was proposed. Feasibility studies had been carried out in the late 1990s, and from as early as 2000 German and Danish transport engineers were actively planning a fixed-link bridge across the Fehmarn Strait, carrying both a four-lane motorway and two electrified rail tracks. This solution was for years regarded as the most likely scheme and detailed plans were drawn up. The Fehmarn Belt bridge was originally expected to be completed by 2018. However, in late 2010, after further feasibility studies, the Danish project planners declared that an
immersed tunnel An immersed tube (or immersed tunnel) is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments, constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked together. They are commonly used for road and rail crossings of r ...
would instead present fewer construction risks and would cost about the same. The bridge would have been about long, comprising three cable-stayed spans. The four pillars in the substructure of the bridge would probably have been about tall, with vertical clearance about above sea level, allowing ocean-going ships to pass beneath it. The design of the bridge links was being carried out by the
Dissing+Weitling Dissing may refer to: * Diss (music), song primarily intended to disrespect people * Dissing+Weitling, architecture and design practice in Copenhagen, Denmark *Heino Dissing (1912–1990), Danish cyclist *Henry Dissing (1931–2009), Danish mycolo ...
company for its aesthetical features and by the
COWI COWI A/S is an international consulting group, specialising in engineering, environmental science and economics, with headquarters in Lyngby, Denmark. It has been involved in more than 50,000 projects in 175 countries and has approximately 7,300 em ...
and Obermeyer companies for their civil engineering aspects. The proposed design would have carried four motorway lanes and two railway tracks.


Tunnel solution

Although originally conceived as a bridge,
Femern A/S Femern A/S is a Danish planning company charged with preparing the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel across the Baltic Sea between the Danish island of Lolland and the German island of Fehmarn. Construction of the 18 km immersed tunnel, which is expected ...
(the Danish state-owned company tasked with designing and planning the link) announced in December 2010 that a tunnel was preferable, and the tunnel idea received support from a large majority of the Danish Parliament in January 2011. By 2012, therefore, the completion date had been pushed back to 2021, and in 2014, it was estimated to be 2024, and then in 2015, it got delayed further to 2028. In 2020, it was delayed to 2029. In February 2015, the draft bill for the construction was introduced to the Danish parliament, and the Danish Government submitted an application for DKK 13 billion (€1.7 billion) in EU grants, supported by Germany and Sweden.Analyse: Femern Bælt-forbindelsen gør Danmark og Europa rigere

Report, 1MB
. ''
Danish Ministry of Transport The Danish Ministry of Transport ( da, Transportministeriet) is the Danish ministry in charge of coordinating and realizing the transport politics of Denmark. The Ministry is headed by a Permanent Secretary. The Ministry of Transport employs a ...
'', 8 January 2015. Accessed: 8 January 2015.
Fermern A/S: ''What is the status of Femern A/S’ work on the tunnel under the Fehmarnbelt?''
Linked 6 March 2015
In June 2015, €589 million of EU funding was awarded to Denmark by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
under its
Connecting Europe Facility The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a European Union fund established in 2014 for infrastructure investments (in particular the Trans-European Networks) across the union in transport, energy, digital and telecommunication projects, which aims a ...
(CEF) scheme, allowing the tunnel project to go ahead. In March 2017, the operating company announced the sign-up of subcontractors for the project. On 13 December 2018, the European Court ruled in favour of
Scandlines Scandlines is a ferry company that operates the Rødby–Puttgarden and Gedser–Rostock ferry routes between Denmark and Germany. Scandlines owns 7 ferries, 6 of which are hybrid ferries, making Scandlines the owner of the world's largest fl ...
in case T‑630/15 regarding state aid. The commission has claimed on 28 September 2018, that there has been no unlawful aid. Action regarding this has been brought before court in January 2019, case number T-7/19.


Project

This project is comparable in size to that of the
Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
or the
Great Belt Bridge The Great Belt Bridge ( da, Storebæltsbroen) or Great Belt fixed link ( da, Storebæltsforbindelsen) is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt strait between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension ...
. According to a report released on 30 November 2010 by Femern A/S (a subsidiary of the Danish state-owned Sund & Bælt Holding A/S), the company tasked with designing and planning the link between Denmark and Germany, the corridor for the alignment of the link has now been determined and will be sited in a corridor running east of the ferry ports of
Puttgarden is a ferry harbour and a village on the German island of Fehmarn. It lies on an important route between Germany and Denmark known as the Vogelfluglinie which crosses the strait, the Fehmarnbelt, to Rødby on the island of Lolland. Overview ...
and
Rødbyhavn Rødbyhavn () is a small town and harbour on the south coast of Lolland, Denmark, with a population of 1,544 (1 January 2022).double-tracks will shorten the rail journey from
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
to Copenhagen from four hours and 58 minutes to three hours and 15 minutes. According to current plans there will be one passenger train and two freight trains in each direction per hour. The highway between Copenhagen and Hamburg is already a motorway except for in Germany that is a two-lane expressway. The narrow
Fehmarn Sound Bridge The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (german: Fehmarnsundbrücke) connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode. Description The crossing includes the network arch bridge which carries road and rail ...
will be replaced by a new
Fehmarn Sound Tunnel The Fehmarn Sound Tunnel between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn is projected to be built by 2028, and is projected to cost €718 million. The tunnel will be near Großenbrode. Background The treaty of 2008 between Germany and Den ...
with a four-lane motorway and double-track railway.


Design

The tunnel will consist of 79 standard elements with a length of 217 metres in a design similar to the Drogden trench, with two road tubes, one emergency tube and two rail tubes. Additionally, there will be 10 service elements with a length of 85.7 metres but both wider and higher with a subfloor (basement) to house technical equipment.


Financing

When the Danish ''
Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...
'' (parliament) ratified the project in March 2009, its cost was estimated at 42 billion DKK (€5 billion). This cost included €1.5 billion for other improvements such as electrifying and improving of railway from single-track to double-track on the Danish side. In 2011 this was increased to a total of €5.5 billion (at 2008 prices). On top of this there will be cost of at least €1 billion for the German rail connection which will be paid by the German government. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link will be financed by state-guaranteed loans, which will be paid by the road and train tolls. Denmark will be solely responsible for guaranteeing the funding of the project at an estimated cost of 35 billion kroner or (€4.7 billion) and German participation will be limited to the development of the land-based facilities on the German side. The government of Denmark will own the fixed link outright, will be allowed to keep tolls after the loans have been repaid, and will enjoy any employment opportunities at the toll station. The fees are also planned to pay for the Danish railway upgrading. On the German side, the road will be upgraded to four lanes and the railway to double track and, according to the treaty, paid by the German tax payers rather than by user tolls. The European Union has designated this project as one of the 30 prioritised transport infrastructure projects (
TEN-T The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommunic ...
). It has committed to a €600 million to €1.2 billion
subsidy A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
. The project is expected to have 5%
rate of return In finance, return is a profit on an investment. It comprises any change in value of the investment, and/or cash flows (or securities, or other investments) which the investor receives from that investment, such as interest payments, coupons, ca ...
for Europe. Construction estimates cover the period from 1 April 1998 until the opening of the fixed link in 2021.


New Storstrømmen and Fehmarn Sound links

Two new links are planned. One about long at the
Fehmarn Sound Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...
and one slightly more than long at
Storstrømmen Storstrømmen (; lit. ''The Great Stream'') is a strait in Denmark separating the island Falster from the island Zealand. Geography Its maximum depth is approximately and the length is around . Smålandsfarvandet sound is situated to the w ...
. According to the 2008 Danish–German treaty, the bridges did not have to be replaced,Tekniske løsningsmodeller for de danske landanlæg
and the
double-track railway A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
construction in Germany may be delayed by up to seven years. Because of its bad condition, a replacement of the
Storstrøm Bridge The Storstrøm Bridge ( da, Storstrømsbroen, ) is a road and railway arch bridge that crosses Storstrømmen between the islands of Falster and Masnedø in Denmark. Together with Masnedsund Bridge it connects Falster and Zealand (''Sjælland''). ...
has been contracted and is slated for completion in 2022. The
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
State Government announced in 2013 it envisioned the construction of a new Fehmarn Sound link or an upgrade of the current
Fehmarn Sound Bridge The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (german: Fehmarnsundbrücke) connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode. Description The crossing includes the network arch bridge which carries road and rail ...
, since it considered the current bridge – with two lanes for road traffic and one track for rail traffic – to be a bottleneck for the German hinterland connection. On 3 March 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Transport, the State of Schleswig-Holstein and
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
announced that a new 1.7 km long immersed
Fehmarn Sound Tunnel The Fehmarn Sound Tunnel between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn is projected to be built by 2028, and is projected to cost €718 million. The tunnel will be near Großenbrode. Background The treaty of 2008 between Germany and Den ...
(German: ''Fehmarnsundtunnel'') with four road lanes and two rail tracks, costing approximately 714 million euros, is planned to be built by 2028, while the current bridge will be preserved for pedestrians, cyclists and slow road traffic.


Railway axis Fehmarn Belt

The Fehmarn Belt Tunnel's railway is the central section of the 'Railway axis Fehmarn Belt', which is Priority Project 20 of the
Trans-European Transport Network The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommunic ...
(TEN-T) that seeks to establish a high-speed rail line Copenhagen–Hamburg. In the north, it connects to the Øresund Bridge/Drogden Tunnel (Priority Project 11) and the Nordic Triangle railway/road axis (Priority Project 12), and in the south to
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
and
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. The full line currently under construction consists of several new railways to be built and old railways to be upgraded, to achieve at least a maximum speed of 200 km/h on all sections: *
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line The Copenhagen–Ringsted line is a high-speed railway on Zealand, Denmark, connecting Copenhagen via Køge with Ringsted. The line was inaugurated on 31 May 2019, and started operating on 1 June as the first high-speed railway in Denmark. It sup ...
, opened on 31 May 2019, currently operating at 180 km/h, upgrading to 250 km/h in 2023. *
Sydbanen Sydbanen (meaning 'the South Track') is a government-owned railway in Denmark. Technically, the line connects Ringsted with Nykøbing Falster, from which it branches to Gedser and Rødbyhavn. In practice, Ringsted is not the terminal station, so t ...
(Ringsted–Rødbyhavn), new tracks to be laid by 2021, to be electrified to reach 200 km/h by 2024. * Fehmarn Belt Tunnel (Rødbyhavn–Puttgarden), 200 km/h, to be completed in 2028. (since revised) * Puttgarden–Lübeck railway, to be electrified and upgraded to reach 200 km/h up from the current 100–160 km/h. The new
Fehmarn Sound Tunnel The Fehmarn Sound Tunnel between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn is projected to be built by 2028, and is projected to cost €718 million. The tunnel will be near Großenbrode. Background The treaty of 2008 between Germany and Den ...
(to be completed in 2028) is part of this section. *
Lübeck–Hamburg railway The Hamburg–Lübeck railway is one of the most important mainline railways of the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. It connects the two Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, and is part of the line to Denmark. The line was ...
, to be upgraded to reach 200 km/h.


Tunnel characteristics

Underwater tunnels are either
bored In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occup ...
or immersed: tunnel boring is common for deepwater tunnels longer than 4 or , while immersion is commonly used for tunnels which cross relatively shallow waters. Immersion involves dredging a trench across the seafloor, laying a foundation bed of sand or gravel, and then lowering
precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable molding (process), mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples i ...
tunnel sections into the excavation and covering it with a protective layer of backfill several metres thick. The
Fehmarn Belt Fehmarn Belt (), (, former spelling ''Femer Bælt''; ) is a strait connecting the Bay of Kiel and the Bay of Mecklenburg in the western part of the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Ferries oper ...
is planned to be crossed by an immersed tunnel. At the planned , it will be the longest ever constructed, and will surpass the Marmaray Tunnel of the
Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. On 30 November 2010, Denmark's ''Femern A/S'' project manager announced it had selected
immersed tunnel An immersed tube (or immersed tunnel) is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments, constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked together. They are commonly used for road and rail crossings of r ...
design submitted by the ''
Ramboll Rambøll Group A/S (also known as just "Ramboll") is a Danish consulting engineering group. History Rambøll was founded in October 1945 as "Rambøll & Hannemann" in Copenhagen. In 1991 the company merged with "B. Højlund Rasmussen A/S" into ...
, Arup, and TEC'' consortium. According to the senior project managers, as well as being the world's longest immersed tunnel, it will be the "world's longest combined road and rail tunnel; the world's longest under water tunnel for road; the deepest immersed tunnel with road and rail traffic; and the second deepest concrete immersed tunnel." The size of the project is about five times the tunnel part of the Øresund Link between Denmark and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, currently the "longest immersed concrete tunnel." The deepest section of the Fehmarn Belt Trench is and the tunnel sections will be about high, thus, the dredging barges will need to be capable of reaching depths of over .
Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
will produce a trench some wide and deep. These parameters give a total of some of soil to be dredged. Conventional dredging equipment can only reach to a depth of about . To excavate the middle portion of the Fehmarn trench – deeper than below the water's surface – will likely require grab dredgers and
trailing suction hopper dredger A trailing suction hopper dredger is a ship that has a full sailing capacity used to maintain navigable waterways, deepening the maritime canals that are threatened to become silted, to construct new land elsewhere or to replace sand eroded by ...
s. The proposed tunnel would be long, deep below the surface of the sea and would carry a double-track railway. Arguments brought forward in favour of a tunnel include its starkly reduced environmental impact, its independence from weather conditions, as crosswinds can have considerable impact on trucks and trailers, especially on a north–south bridge. A bored tunnel was deemed too expensive. The
precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable molding (process), mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples i ...
tunnel sections will have a rectangular cross-section that is about wide and high, containing four separate passageways (two for cars and two for trains), plus a small service passageway: There will be separate northbound and southbound tubes for vehicles, each wide, each with two travel lanes and a breakdown lane; while the northbound and southbound passageways for trains will be wide each and about high; the service passageway will be wide; the standoff space between each "tube" will vary, but the overall width will be . The single-level, sectional arrangement of the two road and rail tubes side-by-side – with the road west and the railway east – coincide with the arrangement of the existing road and rail infrastructure, and requires no weaving to connect.


Project history

* On 29 June 2007, an interim agreement was reached in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
between the Danish and German authorities (represented by their transport ministers) to proceed with the construction of the fixed link. Details provided by
Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterp ...
stated that the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link would run from a point about east of
Rødby Rødby is a town, with a population of 1,983 (1 January 2022),Puttgarden is a ferry harbour and a village on the German island of Fehmarn. It lies on an important route between Germany and Denmark known as the Vogelfluglinie which crosses the strait, the Fehmarnbelt, to Rødby on the island of Lolland. Overview ...
on the island of Fehmarn which was already connected by bridge to the German mainland. Construction would start in 2015 and was expected to be completed by the end of 2021. * On 3 September 2008, the ministers of transportation from Denmark and Germany,
Carina Christensen Carina Christensen (born 8 November 1972, in Fredericia) is a Danish politician representing the Conservative People's Party. She was the Minister of Family and Consumer Affairs in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II from 15 December 200 ...
and
Wolfgang Tiefensee Wolfgang Tiefensee (born 4 January 1955) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the grand coalition cabinet led by Angela Merkel between 2005 and ...
, signed the treaty for the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link at a ceremony held in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. * On 26 March 2009, the construction was ratified by the Danish Parliament, and the German Parliament approved the scheme on 18 June 2009. * In December 2010, it was announced that a tunnel would be used rather than a bridge, as this would present fewer construction risks than a cable-stayed bridge that would be pushing the limits of the technology. The cost and the construction time would be roughly the same. * In January 2011, a large majority of the parties in the Danish Parliament voted to support a tunnel solution. However, national approval procedures in both countries needed to be completed and, in Germany, this involved the application for a plan approval process. In Denmark, the project would require the passage in Parliament of a Construction Act. * On 16 December 2011, the German Government announced it was postponing development of the railway link to the Fehmarn Tunnel until after 2015. According to a report in ''Der Nordschleswiger'', German Traffic Minister
Peter Ramsauer Peter Ramsauer (born 10 February 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) who served as the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development in the Second Merkel cabinet. Early life and education ...
decided to reduce planned government investment in new infrastructure in Germany by 25 per cent due to the
economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
. It was not immediately clear what effect the postponement would have on the overall Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link project. * In October 2013, the tunnel company applied to German authorities for approval according to environmental law and other laws of Germany and EU. This was rejected in 2015 because new legislation that appeared in the meantime was not accounted for. * On 25 February 2015, the bill for the Construction Act for the Fehmarn belt link was introduced in the Danish Parliament. * On 26 February 2015, the Danish
Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...
submitted an application for an EU grant of DKK 13 billion (€1.7 billion) for the project's construction phase. The application was accompanied by letters of support from the Swedish Minister for Infrastructure, Anna Johansson, and the German Transport Minister,
Alexander Dobrindt Alexander Dobrindt (born 7 June 1970) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). Between 2013 and 2017, he served as Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the government of Chancellor Angela Mer ...
. In addition, the German State Government of Schleswig-Holstein, as well as a wide range of business organisations from the Danish, Swedish, and German sides, sent statements supporting the application. EU finally approved DKK 6.92 billion in total for the tunnel and the connecting Danish railway, around 15% of the cost. * * On 13 June 2016, the tunnel company applied again to German authorities for approval, based on an updated application of 11,000 pages adopted to new legal principles that appeared since last application. It is expected that this process is ended in 2018. It expected that two further years will be spent in court processes, since political objectors have stated they will appeal the authority approval. * On 28 December 2018, the German authority decided to approve the project. * On 6 February 2019, Femern A/S received German plan approval for the tunnel. This has been appealed to the Federal Administrative Court by political objectors. * In February 2019, DB Netz AG submits a document to the BMVI detailing variants of the rail connection to the tunnel. The approval process for the railway will need approval by the German Parliament. * In March 2019, Femern A/S decided on Government request to start large preparatory work on land, such as building a factory for concrete tunnel elements., in anticipation of a positive German court decision later. * On 3 March 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Transport, the State of Schleswig-Holstein and Deutsche Bahn announced that a new 1.7 km long immersed
Fehmarn Sound Tunnel The Fehmarn Sound Tunnel between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn is projected to be built by 2028, and is projected to cost €718 million. The tunnel will be near Großenbrode. Background The treaty of 2008 between Germany and Den ...
(German: ''Fehmarnsundtunnel'') with four road lanes and two rail tracks, costing approximately €714 million, will be built by 2028, while the current
Fehmarn Sound Bridge The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (german: Fehmarnsundbrücke) connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode. Description The crossing includes the network arch bridge which carries road and rail ...
, which was at risk of becoming a bottleneck, will be preserved for pedestrians, cyclists and slow road traffic. * On 30 April 2020, it was announced by Femern A/S that work is scheduled to begin on 1 January 2021, although it is possible that this will be delayed due to the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Femern has already begun a number of pre-construction activities at Puttgarden. * On 3 November 2020, the
Bundesverwaltungsgericht The Federal Administrative Court (german: Bundesverwaltungsgericht, ) is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and t ...
ruled that the project could be built, but some reefs would have to be considered. The
Naturschutzbund Deutschland The Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. ("Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union") or NABU is a German non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to conservation at home and abroad, including the protection of rivers, forests and individu ...
described it as a "dark day for the marine environment".
Sabine Leidig Sabine Leidig (born 7 August 1961) is a German politician. Born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, she represents The Left. Sabine Leidig has served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Hesse since 2009. Life After completing her vo ...
(Die Linke) commented: "The ecological effects and the burden upon the neighbours of this giant project are much too large, compared to its small utility." * On 1 January 2021, works began on the actual tunnel construction, with an official online ceremony. * On 18 January 2022, the Federal Administrative Court in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
imposed a construction freeze on the areas near protected
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
s. * On 12 May 2022, work has begun on the tunnel's northern entrance (Danish side). * On 24 May 2022, the dredging work of the tunnel is 50% completed, i.e., 11 km has been dredged.


Criticism

The crossing has been discussed for more than 30 years. At the beginning of that period, before the
reunification of Germany German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, the only possible link was towards
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, as going towards Communist
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
was not a viable option. Although times have changed and Europe has been politically and economically reshaped in the meantime, the plans for the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link have stayed the course. The
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era conceptualization of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link has been highly criticized, as some see connecting the two capitals of
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and on a larger scale, a link from
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
to the former
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
countries as a priority of the utmost importance. A Gedser–Rostock Bridge, about further east, has been proposed as an alternative or to complement the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, as this alternative proposal would better connect eastern Germany including Berlin and places further east and south with Scandinavia. Despite an offer to help offset the costs of the tunnel by the Danish Cyclists' Federation, it is not planned to include a
cycle path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
. There have been objections from local people on the German side, both from those fearing the loss of jobs in connection with the present busy ferry traffic, and from
environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
ists who believed that
wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
would suffer from the construction of the originally conceived bridge. At the same time, employment connected to construction works would be only short-term, while residents would suffer from the increase in traffic, especially with the planned
freight trains Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...
which would move from the present
Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
-
Great Belt Fixed Link The Great Belt Bridge ( da, Storebæltsbroen) or Great Belt fixed link ( da, Storebæltsforbindelsen) is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt strait between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension ...
route. In particular, there are concerns with the potential increase of train noise for some residents with moving the freight train traffic from the current route to this new route. These critics have been the loudest and they have been able to get a realignment of the planned railway route. The present Hamburg freight rail bypass used today for the freight traffic, is disturbing more people than the villages north of Lübeck. Furthermore, it is claimed that the project might be economically unjustified, as predictions of
passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
traffic and
goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tran ...
transport may be overestimated and there is a considerable risk that the investment will not be recouped. The
European Court of Auditors The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members ( ...
has criticised the planning of the German land connection for letting cost rise uncontrolled. This cost is more than double what would be if following the legal requirements for a 160 km/h railway (the originally decided speed). Local lobbyists have been allowed to get things such as realignment and extra noise protection. In 2019, the Bundesrechnungshof commented that "in view of the current traffic forecasts, it is questionable whether the benefits of the project will increase to such an extent that the expected costs are justified under economic aspects".


Support

There has been complaints from some Swedish politicians over long train travel times between Sweden and Germany, and the lack of
night trains Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
. This made train travel, for example from
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
to
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, impossible unless one night is spent in a hotel en route. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link would improve the travel time considerably. In 2020, the Swedish Government decided to financially support international night trains from Stockholm to mainland Europe, one from Stockholm via Copenhagen to Hamburg, which began operations by SJ in September 2022, and another one from Malmö to Brussels, which was not bid for and did not commence. On top of these, there is a commercially operated night train from Stockholm to Berlin via Copenhagen and Hamburg, going in popular seasons, mainly summer time, which is operated by
Snälltåget Snälltåget is an open access railway company in Sweden with long-distance trains along the Southern Main Line in Sweden from Malmö to Stockholm as well as sleeper trains between Stockholm and Berlin and Malmö to the ski and hiking resorts in ...
and started June 2021. Before 2021, a night train operated under various operators Malmö-Berlin (originally longer route) from 1909 to 2020 through the Trelleborg–Sassnitz ferry.


References


External links

* *
Femern Bælt, Danish traffic ministry
*
Pictures, Danish traffic ministry
*
Information on the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link on the website of the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament

Dynamic map comparing proposed bridge and tunnel routes

Ramboll's Project Manager blogs about the tunnel

Ramboll's project description of the tunnel

Giraffe_(film)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Buildings and structures in Schleswig-Holstein Railway tunnels in Denmark Belt Fixed Link Connections across the Baltic Sea Proposed tunnels in Denmark Proposed undersea tunnels in Europe Proposed railway tunnels in Europe Proposed road tunnels in Europe Toll tunnels in Europe Immersed tube tunnels in Denmark Immersed tube tunnels in Germany 2029 in rail transport