Øresund Bridge Rail Transport

Øresund Bridge Rail Transport

The rail link is operated jointly by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Danish railway infrastructure manager Banedanmark. Passenger train service is commissioned by Skånetrafiken and the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority (Trafikstyrelsen) under the Øresundståg brand, with Transdev and DSB being the current operators. A series of new dual-voltage trains was developed, linking the Copenhagen area with Malmö and southern Sweden as far as Gothenburg and Kalmar. SJ operates X2000 trains over the bridge, with connections to Gothenburg and Stockholm. Copenhagen Airport at Kastrup has its own railway station close to the western bridgehead. Since December 2022, trains operate typically every 15 minutes during the day, reducing to once an hour during the night in both directions. Additional Øresundstrains are operated at rush hour. Freight trains also use the crossing.

The rail section is double track 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and capable of speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph), but slower in Denmark, especially in the tunnel section. There were challenges related to the difference in electrification and signalling between the Danish and Swedish railway networks. The solution chosen is to switch the electrical system from Swedish 15 kV, 16.7 Hz to Danish 25 kV, 50 Hz before the eastern bridgehead at Lernacken in Sweden. The line is signalled according to the standard Swedish system across the length of the bridge. On Peberholm the line switches to Danish signalling, which continues into the tunnel. There is no way of changing between a locomotive for Danish standard and one for Swedish standard. All rail vehicles using the bridge must be custom made for the standards of both countries.

Trains run on the left in Sweden, and on the right in Denmark. Initially the switch was made at Malmö Central Station, a terminus at that time. After the 2010 inauguration of the Malmö City Tunnel connection, a tunnel was built at Burlöv, north of Malmö, where the two southbound tracks cross over the northbound pair. The railway in Malmö thus uses the Danish standard.

Øresund Bridge (Öresund Bridge) Overview

Øresund Bridge Carries:
Four lanes of European route E20
Double-track Øresund Line
Øresund Bridge Crosses: Øresund strait (the Sound)
Øresund Bridge Locale: Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden
Øresund Bridge Official Name: Øresundsbron (used by company), Øresundsbroen (Danish), Öresundsbron (Swedish)
Øresund Bridge Design: Cable-stayed bridge
Øresund Bridge Total Length: 7,845 metres (25,738 ft)
Øresund Bridge Width: 23.5 metres (77.1 ft)
Øresund Bridge Height: 204 metres (669 ft)
Øresund Bridge Longest Span: 490 metres (1,608 ft)
Øresund Bridge Clearance Below: 57 metres (187 ft)
Øresund Bridge Designer: Jørgen Nissen, Klaus Falbe Hansen, Niels Gimsing and Georg Rotne
Øresund Bridge Engineering Design By:
Ove Arup & Partners
Setec
ISC
Gimsing & Madsen
Øresund Bridge Constructed By: Hochtief, Skanska, Højgaard & Schultz and Monberg & Thorsen
Øresund Bridge Construction Start: 1995
Øresund Bridge Construction End: 1999
Øresund Bridge Construction Cost:
19.6 billion DKK
25.8 billion SEK
2.6 billion EUR
Øresund Bridge Opened: 1 July 2000
Øresund Bridge Daily Traffic: Increase c. 18,434 road vehicles (2022)
Øresund Bridge Toll:
Until 31 December 2023: DKK 440, SEK 650 or EUR 59
From 1 January 2024: DKK 455, SEK 673 or EUR 61
Øresund Bridge Coordinates: 55°34′31″N 12°49′37″E