Øresund Line (Øresundbanen)

Øresund Line (Swedish: Öresundsbanan, Danish: Øresundbanen)

The Øresund Line or in Swedish: Öresundsbanan, in Danish: Øresundbanen is a railway between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden via the Øresund Bridge. It operates 24/7, and a journey between the two cities takes 35 to 40 minutes. On the Swedish side it is managed by the Swedish Transport Administration, on the Danish side by Banedanmark.

The railway line approaches Copenhagen from the Continental Line south of Malmö and heads west, passing over the Øresund Bridge on the lower section of the Peberholm artificial island, under Copenhagen Airport to Copenhagen Central Station. In Malmö, the City Tunnel connects the railway directly to Malmö C.

Øresund trains are operated by DSB on the Danish side and SJ Öresund on the Swedish side. They connect Copenhagen and Malmö, with onward connections to Gothenburg, Kalmar, and Karlskrona. On the Danish side, many trains continue northwards on the Coast Line to Helsingør. SJ operates SJ 2000 high-speed trains between Stockholm, Malmö, and Copenhagen. Freight trains are operated by Railion using EG locomotives.

Øresund Line History

Plans for connecting Scania and Zealand with a bridge had been raised throughout the entire 20th century, and in 1991 a company was created to start the work. Construction of the Øresund Bridge and Øresund Railway started in 1995 and was completed in 2000. According to UIC this rail line had in 2012 the most expensive second class rail tickets in Europe with a price of 0.21 Euro per km. The investigation encompassed 103 rail lines. This price is calculated on the distance Malmö-Copenhagen of 52.7 kilometres (32.7 mi) which does not include the shortening by Citytunneln and which made the per-km price higher compared to Eurostar.

Øresund Line Future

It has been proposed to complement the Øresund Line with a metro link called the Øresundsmetro. This would directly connect Malmö to the Copenhagen Metro system and reduce journey times between the two city centres from 35 minutes to 20 minutes.

Øresund Line City Tunnel

Since December 2010, Øresund trains use the City Tunnel in Malmö, with its stations at Hyllie and Triangeln, thereby saving one minute for passengers to Malmö C and about 15 to 20 minutes for passengers to Triangeln.

Øresund Line Border Technicalities

One of the challenges with the line was the incompatibility between the railway electrification systems in Denmark and Sweden. Denmark uses 25 kV 50 Hz AC while Sweden uses 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC.

The signalling systems in the two countries are also different. The problems were overcome by requiring all trains operating on the line to be dual voltage and have dual signalling systems, including a minority of the X2 trains operated throughout Sweden by SJ. The signalling system switches on Peberholm in Denmark, so the entire bridge uses the Swedish signalling, but Danish electrical system. The Danish signalling system is only approved for 180 km/h (110 mph) speed, while the Swedish system is approved for 200 km/h (125 mph). The entire bridge has 200 km/h (125 mph) maximum speed, also the Danish part, as the only railway in Denmark.

On double-track lines in Denmark trains run on the right whereas in Sweden they run on the left. On the Øresund Line trains runs on the right hand track, changing sides at a flyover north of the Malmö C, resulting in trains in the Malmö area using the Danish standard.

On Autumn 2015, border controls started at Hyllie station. They cause a delay in the traffic there. Furthermore, from January 2016, a carrier's responsibility law was in effect, so all passengers had to go through identity check at Copenhagen Airport station, and all passengers from other Danish stations had to disembark, change track and go through the identity check. These checks were abolished in May 2017, after the EU commission declared such checks not acceptable.

Øresund Line Overview

Øresund Line Owner: Swedish Transport Administration
Banedanmark
Øresund Line Termini:
Malmö Central Station
Copenhagen Central Station
Øresund Line Stations: 7
Øresund Line Type: High-speed railway
Øresund Line System: Danish railways
Swedish railways
Øresund Line Operator(s):
DSB
DSB Øresund
SJ
Skåne commuter rail
Skånetrafiken
DB Cargo
Green Cargo
Øresund Line Rolling Stock:
SJ X2
SJ 2000
X 31K
EG
ET
Øresund Line Opened: 2000
Øresund Line Line Length: 46 km
Øresund Line Track Length: 92 km
Øresund Line Number of Tracks: Double
Øresund Line Character: Passenger and freight
Øresund Line Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Øresund Line Electrification: 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC
25 kV 50 Hz AC
Øresund Line Operating Speed: 200 km/h (125 mph)