Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Route

Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Route

As intended, trains are to follow the existing line from Copenhagen Central Station through Ny Ellebjerg station. The new line will begin south of the Vigerslev Allé station, and follow the Kulbanevej street and the Motorway 21. From there, it will turn north of Ishøj and after that follow the motorway E20 all the way to Fjællebro (Kværkeby) in Ringsted Municipality, from where it will go north of and parallel to the old Zealand West Line line until Ringsted. The line will also be linked to an existing 180 km (110 mi) railway that passes between Copenhagen and the Danish land border with Germany.

The Copenhagen–Ringsted Line will feature a new station at Ny Ellebjerg, this facility is intended to be connected to the S-train line F and a future metro line. Another new station, Køge North, is now completed just south of the road Egedesvej. This facility is equipped with train platforms both east of (S-train) (in Ølsemagle Lyng or Ølsemagle Strand) and west of the motorway (close to the village Ølsemagle, further to the west), located near motorway exit 32 north of Køge. A 225 metres (738 ft) pedestrian bridge formed as a tube over the motorway forms a connection between the platforms. Furthermore, an additional track is to be installed at Køge Station while Ringsted Station is to be renovated as well.

The programme required the construction of various civil engineering works, including a total of five tunnels, which possess a cumulative length of 2 km (1.2 mi), and four bridges, which had a combined length of 1.8 km (1.1 mi). In addition, various roads, bridges, and miscellaneous passages are to be installed along the length of the route. Reportedly, the construction phase required 128,000 m3 (4,500,000 cu ft) of concrete, 105,000 t of steel, 358,000 m3 (12,600,000 cu ft) of gravel and 327,000 m3 (11,500,000 cu ft) of chippings.

Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Construction

During January 2011, it was announced that a consortium of Vössing, EKJ Consulting and Sweco, led by engineering company Atkins, had signed a contract with Banedanmark to design the first stretch of the railway line. Banedanmark decided that the best approach would be to divided the contracts for the civil works into packages worth between €30 million and €200 million. In July 2012, civil engineering firm MT Højgaard was awarded a contract for the construction of four road bridges and railway bridges near Vallensbaek and Brøndby, while Aarsleff Rail was contracted by Rail Net Denmark to construct 12 bridges between Ishøj and Greve in January 2013. During June 2013, a consortium of Barslund and CG Jensen received a contract for the construction of a bridge on Brondby Østervej, as well as a railway tunnel near Holbækmotorvejen, and a pass through Vestvolden.

On 12 September 2012, a ceremony officiated by the then-Minister for Transport Henrik Dam Kristensen was held to mark the commencement of construction activity on the new line, at the occasion, much fanfare was made of the improvements to international travel that it promised to enable once completed. In September 2016 was started the construction of the new Køge North Station. Minister Hans Christian Schmidt also started tracklaying beginning in Ringsted this time. It was finished in time in May 2017.

In parallel in January 2017 was started redesign of Ringsted station infrastructure. Some 16 km tracks were reconstructed and 24 turnouts implemented.

In May 2017 started final construction with provision of catenary and signalling equipment. Because of difficulties in provision of ETCS (signalling and control component of the ERTMS) onboard equipment to the trains some replanning has happened. So there was a need for additional installation of deprecated ATC equipment, which caused a further delay of opening.

In August 2018 construction phase was finished, electricity switched on in mid-August and testing with rolling stock was started at the end of August.

The line entered in service on 31 May 2019. Being initially opened without the ETCS signalling system (using ATC instead), the maximum operating speed of the line was reduced to 180 km/h (112 mph) and its capacity limited to 5 trains per hour. In the first months of operation, only 1 or 2 trains per hour were scheduled on the new line.

In April 2023, the ETCS Level 2 installation was completed, which will improve trains regularity. This was also a necessary step for operating trains in the future at the line's construction speed and capacity. As designed, the total capacity of the new line was planned to be 24 trains per hour per direction, but this number is far larger than the current capacity of Copenhagen Central Station, which, as of 2006, was ca. 17 trains arriving from west per hour.

Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Opening

The line was inaugurated on 31 May 2019, Crown Prince Frederik was guest of honour as the new high-speed rail track was opened by national rail infrastructure company Banedanmark. The track has been built to enable high-speed trains which can travel at up to 250 kilometres per hour, although such trains will not be used on the line initially, with operator DSB instead using existing trains at increased speeds. HSR (high-speed rail) will be possible on the new line in future, however.

The Coradia Stream (IC5) trains that DSB have ordered for delivery in 2025 will have a top speed of 200 km/h (125 mph).

København-Ringsted Line Overview

Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Termini:
Copenhagen Central
Ringsted
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Service Type: Main line
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Operator(s): DSB
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Opened: 31 May 2019
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Line Length: ca. 60 km (double track)
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Number of Tracks: Double
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Electrification: 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Operating Speed:
200 km/h (124 mph)
Copenhagen–Ringsted Line Train Protection System: ATC (until 2023)
ERTMS (from 2023)