Copenhagen Central Station ( da, Københavns Hovedbanegård , abbreviated ''København H'') is the main

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and the largest railway station in Denmark. With more than 100,000 travellers every day, it is the second busiest station in Denmark after Nørreport station. It is located in central Copenhagen, situated between the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Indre By and Vesterbro with entrances from Bernstorffsgade (at

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...

), Banegårdspladsen, Reventlowsgade and access to platforms from Tietgensgade. Copenhagen Central Station is the hub of the

DSB DSB may refer to: Science, technology and devices * DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes * Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair * in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...

railway network serving Denmark and international destinations. It offers

International Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

services to

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 ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

and

Express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than Local train, local trains that stop at most or all of the s ...

services across Denmark, regular and frequent regional train services to and from Zealand and southern

(also referred to as Øresund trains),

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

services of the Copenhagen S-train network across the Greater Copenhagen area, as well as lines M3 ( City Circle Line) & M4 of the

Copenhagen Metro The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby. The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...

network. The first station in Copenhagen opened in 1847. The current station building opened in 1911 and is the work of

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Heinrich Wenck Heinrich (Henry) Emil Charles Wenck (10 March 1851 – 3 February 1936) was a Danish architect, known for the numerous railway stations he designed in his capacity of chief architect for the Danish State Railways from 1894 to 1921. During the yea ...

. The station has 7 platforms and 13 tracks. On the station concourse there are many small shops, restaurants, cafés, and fast food outlets.

History

First station

The first railway station in Copenhagen was constructed on behalf of '' Det Sjællandske Jernbaneselskab'' ( en, the Zealand Railway Company) to serve as the eastern

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

of the new Copenhagen-Roskilde railway line from

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, the first railway line in the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

. The station opened on 26 June 1847 along with the railway line, which was prolonged from Roskilde to the port city of

Korsør Korsør is a town on Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Korsør was the seat of Korsør Municipality. The town is located west of Slagelse, north-west of Skælskør and connects to Nyborg through the Great Bel ...

by the Great Belt in 1856. The station was located at the site of ''

Dronningens Enghave Dronningens Enghave ( lit. "The Queen's Meadow Garden") was a seventeenth-century royal pleasure garden located just outside the Western City Gate of Copenhagen, Denmark, roughly where Tivoli Gardens and Copenhagen Central Station lies today. Hist ...

'' ( en, the Queen's Meadow Garden), a former royal pleasure garden located just outside the Vesterport ( en, Western Gate)

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

of Copenhagen. The first station was located approximately at the site of the current station, but the tracks were perpendicular to their current direction, as the railway line then left the city along the current streets

Halmtorvet Halmtorvet (English: The Haymarket) is a public square in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located next to Copenhagen Central Station in front of the Meat District. The oblong square eventually turns into Sønder Boulevard, ...

and

Sønder Boulevard Sønder Boulevard ( lit. "South Boulevard") is a boulevard in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, whose broad central reserve has been turned into a linear park with various facilities for sports and other activities. It runs from Halmt ...

. The

station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, p ...

was constructed of

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

as it was built outside the city's fortifications within the

demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahrawi- ...

, a no-build zone outside the ramparts where

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

buildings were not allowed for

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

reasons. In case of war, the army should be able to burn buildings in the firing range outside the ramparts. Copenhagen Central Station 1864 by Neuhaus cropped

Copenhagen Central Station 1864 by Neuhaus cropped

This railway station and the still existing

Roskilde station Roskilde Station is the principal railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport ...

(which is built in brick) are both linked to a largely unknown

named L.F. Meyer (or Meier). But it has also been suggested that the railway station in Copenhagen should be attributed to the architect

Harald Conrad Stilling Harald Conrad Stilling (9 February 1815 – 29 November 1891) was a Danish architect who was active in Copenhagen during the Late Classical period of the mid-18th century. He received the C. F. Hansen Medal in 1841. Early life and educatio ...

, as there are strong similarities between the railway station and Stilling's

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

in the

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

. Both buildings are characterized by Italian rural architecture, and Stilling was one of the most well-versed architects of this Italian style, just as he had insight into wood construction from his assignments at Tivoli. For both station buildings, a motif with two

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s without

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

s is a central part of the composition (the towers at Roskilde station were crowned by a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

until 1873, when they were covered by

pyramid roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

s). The Danish

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

was very enthusiastic about the first railway and wrote that driving a train was like flying. The first station station building was demolished in 1865.

Second station

In the 1860s, there were several plans to expand the railway network in Denmark, and in particular to connect a northbound line to

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

with the existing westbound line to

and the rest of Zealand. As a consequence, an expansion of the old station became necessary. A proposal to build a new station close to the old Nørreport ( en, Northern Gate)

was abandoned due to opposition from the

Rigsdag Rigsdagen () was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953. ''Rigsdagen'' was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, th ...

, Denmark's parliament. In the end, it was decided to replace the old station and build a new larger station near the location of the old one. The construction started in 1863 and the station opened on 14 October 1864. As planned, the new railway station was also to service the new northbound railway lines that opened the year before, the

North Line North Line may refer to: *Far North Line, Scotland *Gjøvik Line, Norway *Main North Line, New Zealand *Main North railway line, New South Wales, Australia * Milwaukee District/North Line, Illinois, United States *Northern line (underground railway) ...

to Hillerød and Elsinore and its branch line, the Klampenborg Line to

Klampenborg Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many ...

The new railway station was located a little north of the location of the old one, on the other side of Vesterbrogade. The station building was located approximately where the Palads Cinema and

Axelborg Axelborg, located across the street from Tivoli Gardens on Vesterbrogade in Copenhagen, Denmark, is home to the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. DLG Group is also headquartered in the building. The building was built in 1920 and was originally ...

lie today, but it was part of a larger facility, as there was a freight station in the same area. Together with track areas, depots, and

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, the station area filled virtually the entire area, which today lies between

Axeltorv Axeltorv is a public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located across the street from Tivoli Gardens' main entrance on Vesterbrogade. History Axeltorv was inaugurated on 8 November 1917. The grounds were formerly part of Farigmagsvej and us ...

, Gyldenløvesgade and Vester Søgade. As traffic increased, several additional smaller station buildings gradually opened in the station area. A separate station called the Klampenborg station for the Klampenborg Line had opened already in 1863. In 1887, a significant expansion of the area took place as a new separate station called the Klampenborg station opened for the Klampenborg Line, and the name of the old Klampenborg station was changed to the North station. And in 1896 a separate station for trains to Holte on the North Line, the Holte station, was opened just to the north of the North station. Copenhagen_2nd_central_station_perron

The station building was designed by the

Johan Daniel Herholdt in the

Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a nineteenth-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular ...

that now became popular in the

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

of the

Germanic world The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

. After the dismantling of fortifications of Copenhagen and the abandonment of the demarcation line in 1856, the building could be constructed in red brick. It consisted of two 25-span buildings connected by a wooden arch crowned by a large

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof. Four tracks passed through the hall. The departure side was by the current

, and on this side there were

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

s, luggage expedition and

waiting room A waiting room or waiting hall is a building, or more commonly a part of a building or a room, where people sit or stand until the event or appointment for which they are waiting begins. There are two types of waiting room. One has individuals ...

s. The waiting rooms were divided into 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

and 3rd class. Further on there was a royal waiting room and then

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...

s. As the volume of traffic increased, a special freight forwarding building was added. Central Copenhagen around 1905

In the long run, however, this second station also became too cramped, especially because it was a

with only one

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

leading out of the city which had to cross the lakes of Copenhagen on a narrow dam along Gyldenløvesgade. On the other side of the lakes, the track split in two: to the west via Frederiksberg station to

and

Frederikssund Frederikssund () is a Danish town, seat of the Frederikssund Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden with a population of 16,850 (1 January 2022).Nørrebro station and

Hellerup station Hellerup station is a regional and S-train railway station]serving the district of Hellerup in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by regional trains on the Coast Branch, as well as S-trains. History The station was designed by V.C.H. Wolf and o ...

to Hillerød,

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

and

. The tracks are long gone, but large sections can still easily be seen in the street network. The large Nørrebro Park and the

Superkilen Superkilen is a public park in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is designed to bring immigrants and locals together, promoting tolerance and unity in one of Denmark's most ethnically-diverse and socially-challenged communit ...

public park in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

are located on the grounds of the former Nørrebro Station. Matters were made worse from the fact that the tracks had several level crossings on the way out of the city, which with the steadily increasing train traffic led to frequent blockages for the equally steadily increasing road traffic when the barriers were down.

The third and current railway station

By the end of the

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

, it had become increasingly clear that the conditions at the second railway station had become too narrow and outdated. Already from the end of the 1870s, it was discussed how to solve these problems with Copenhagen's railway connections. After many years of discussions, the

, Denmark's parliament finally decided in 1904 to build a brand new railway station, approximately at the location of the first station. The new station was to be a

through station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

with the tracks of the westbound lines leading south from the new station out of the city along Ingerslevsgade via Valby station towards

and

Frederikssund Frederikssund () is a Danish town, seat of the Frederikssund Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden with a population of 16,850 (1 January 2022).railway tunnel to Østerport station and continuing north from there via

to Hillerød and Elsinore. Copenhagen_Central_Station_1911

The new station was opened on 30 November 1911 by Christian X of Denmark, Crown Prince Christian, who stated: The following day, December 1, the first train departed from the station. Boulevardbanen-aug-1914

Since the northbound tunnel (the

Boulevard Line The Boulevard Line ( da, Boulevardbanen) is a long partly underground railway between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport Station in Copenhagen, Denmark. The quadruple track railway carries today one dual track for the Copenhagen S-train s ...

) was not opened until 1917, the new station was initially only served by trains on the westbound lines, and the old station continued to serve the trains on the northbound lines for a period. With the opening of the first

double track 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 ...

of the Boulevard line on December 1, 1917, the direct connection with Østerport station was established. Now trains along the line from Copenhagen to Elsinore could continue directly to the new central station, just as trains along the Klampenborg Line were diverted via Østerport from the previous route from Hellerup via Nørrebro to the second station. However, it was not until the opening of the second double track of the Boulevard line on October 1, 1921, that trains on the Copenhagen to Hillerød line from Hillerød were diverted through the tunnel. The old station could thus finally be permanently closed. The station was overhauled in 1980. Escalators and lifts were established to the platforms, and the station concourse, which was originally split into arrival, departure, and freight sections, was redone completely. The station was overhauled again from 2004 to 2008. This overhaul replaced the roof, lowered platforms 3 to 6 to international standards and lengthened them. The towers and the bridge over the platforms, upon which the main station building is placed, were reconditioned.

Architecture

The station was designed by

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, who was head architect of the

Danish State Railways DSB, an abbreviation of ''Danske Statsbaner'' (, ''Danish State Railways''), is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goo ...

from 1894 to 1921. The station is designed in National Romantic style, a Nordic

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and which is often considered to be a form of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

The roof of the Hall of the Copenhagen Central Station

The prominent materials are

and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, and a host of decorative details have been added. Inspired by Herholdt's railway station, Wenck also used a wooden arch construction both in the two departure and arrival halls and in the 6 arches over the platforms. It was probably just as much a stylistic choice, since Wenck rarely used

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

. However, the entire railway station's foundation, basement and the platform that support the railway station site are made of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

Copenhagen Central Station - stained-glass windows

Wenck's building is a gesamtkunstwerk, where the architect has drawn all the details; right from the Bornholm tiles, benches, the large chandeliers, of which 12 pieces originally hung (2 are set up in the hall, 2 others are found at Østerport Station), the kiosks, wrought iron signs with neat writing, door handles and brass signs with DSB logo and stained glass windows with city coats of arms from Danish cities. Jens Lund was responsible for the 10 figures of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

on the main facade representing folk types in

national costume A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...

s (1910).

Layout

København H north side from Hotel Astoria

The station has 7 platforms and 13 tracks. The platforms begin under the main passenger hall (and at least the S-train section, two platforms with a total of four S-train tracks, of the station can be said to begin as an underground station). A hotel (''Astoria'') is built above the S-train tracks in the Northern end, but the remaining tracks are uncovered below street level. (Open areas between tunnel sections were necessary to have during the era of steam trains, while the S-trains always have been electrical). In the opposite (platform) end, all platforms are covered with the typical railway arched roof. This roof is shorter than the platforms, but all tracks remain below street level and can also be accessed from the street ''Tietgensgade''. In addition to the original 6 island-platforms and their 12 tracks, has one additional track constructed much later. The single spare track, called track 26, was initially built for trains to southern Sweden, while Malmö C still was a terminus. It has later occasionally been used for express trains to or from

or to or from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. After the introduction of border controls and mandatory identity checks for travel to Sweden this track was fenced and used for X2000 and intercity trains to Sweden. The extra track 26 is located south of the main building and is reachable only by walking along the platform for track 4 and 5 or from a staircase from the Tietgensgade street. There is a plan to extend the length of this track and build another track on the other side of the same platform, called track 27. The station services the Copenhagen S-train network, but the S-train system in Copenhagen doesn't use any kind of hub at all. It is an urban transit which differs from most Metro systems mainly by being a type of railway. At the station are two platforms with four tracks (track 9–12) that are used by the S-trains only. All other trains usually use the other four platforms and eight tracks. Because Denmark uses

right-hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...

, the tracks 1–4 are mainly used for northbound traffic, and tracks 5–8 for southbound, but tracks 3–6 can also be used for trains that change direction at the station.

Facilities

The hall of the Copenhagen Central Station

The main concourse also functions as a marketplace where fresh fruit sellers, newsstands, a post office, ATMs, currency exchanges, hamburgers, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs can all be found. There is also a travel center for information, a police station, and windows for the in-person sale of tickets, along with access to toilets. Shower rooms are also available for a smaller fee.

Services

Copenhagen Central Station provides Copenhagen with Intercity and Express trains across Denmark, as well as services to several international destinations. Direct international trains connect to

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 ...

and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

several times a day.

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

trains run half-hourly from Copenhagen during daytime and serve as a link between the major cities and towns in Denmark, including Odense,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

, Thisted and Sønderborg. Regional trains (stops at major stations within the Greater Copenhagen area) connect the main parts of Zealand to the capital.

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

trains on the Øresundståg

regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

network depart to southern and western Sweden every 20 minutes (24/7 service between Lund Central Station and Østerport Station). All S-train services except the F-line stop at the station. From 29 September 2019 the Central station is also served by the

network's line M3 (in service 24/7), which is a circular line with 17 stations. The station is also served by the M4 line, linking the Nordhavn and Sydhavn districts and serve as an interchange between the Sydhavn extension and the M3. Long distance buses stop at Ingerslevsgade near track 12 just south of the Tietgensgade bridge. All public transport within Greater Copenhagen are divided into close to 100 ticket fare zones. The Central station is located in fare zone 1, which together with zones 2 and 3 constitute Copenhagen municipality and the "enclave" of Frederiksberg municipality. As the cheapest single ticket always is valid in two zones, a single ticket bought at the station is valid within the entire city centre and its inner boroughs. A ticket to Copenhagen Airport Kastrup, however, demands the payment for three zones since it is located in zone 4. A special ticket fare system exists between the Copenhagen local traffic area and the most southern part of Sweden,

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

county.

Future

The station needs more capacity following the opening of the

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 ...

on 31 May 2019. The

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 ...

has started planning of an extension: proposals include a four-track

on a bridge over the present tracks, or in a tunnel under them.

Cultural references

Copenhagen Central Station is used as a location at 1:12:36 in the 1975 '' Olsen-banden'' film ''

The Olsen Gang on the Track ''The Olsen Gang on the Track'' ( da, Olsen-banden på sporet) is a 1975 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Ove Sprogøe. The film was the seventh in the ''Olsen-banden''-series. Plot Following the Olsen Gang's only succe ...

''. Egon (

Ove Sprogøe Ove Wendelboe Sprogøe Petersen (21 December 1919 – 14 September 2004) was a Danish actor. Life Born in Odense, his parents were Arthur and Inger Sprogøe Petersen. He married Eva Rasmussen in 1945, with whom he had three children. O ...

) hides a suitcase in the luggage storage at Copenhagen Central Station in ''

The Olsen Gang Outta Sight ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1977) and the lost luggage department is also used as a location later in the same film.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

responsible for maintenance and traffic control on most of the Danish railway network *
DSB
– largest Danish

train operating company A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating Passenger Trains, passenger trains on the Rail transport in Great Britain, railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the Privatisation ...

*
Danske Jernbaner
– website with information on railway history in Denmark {{Copenhagen Metro City Circle Line (Copenhagen Metro) stations M4 (Copenhagen Metro) stations Railway stations in Copenhagen Listed railway stations in Copenhagen S-train (Copenhagen) stations Railway stations opened in 1847 Railway stations opened in 1864 Railway stations opened in 1911 Tourist attractions in Copenhagen Heinrich Wenck railway stations Vesterbro, Copenhagen Art Nouveau architecture in Copenhagen National Romantic architecture in Copenhagen Art Nouveau railway stations Railway stations in Denmark opened in 1847 Copenhagen Metro stations located underground Transit centers in Denmark