S-train (Copenhagen)

S-train (Copenhagen) S-tog

The Copenhagen S-train in Danish: S-tog, the S-train of Copenhagen, Denmark, is a key part of public transport in the city. It is a hybrid urban-suburban rail serving most of the Copenhagen urban area, and is analogous to the S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Vienna and Hamburg. The trains connect the Copenhagen inner city with Hillerød, Klampenborg, Frederikssund, Farum, Høje-Taastrup and Køge. There are 170 km (110 mi) of double track with 87 S-train stations, of which eight are in neighbouring towns outside greater Copenhagen.

The S-train is run by DSB S-tog A/S while Banedanmark owns the tracks and signals. Rail services are operated by "Fourth Generation" S-trains divided into 104 8-car train sets (Class SA) and 31 4-car train sets (Class SE).

The system operates in tandem with the separately owned Copenhagen Metro which operates in the city centre, Frederiksberg and Amager. The two systems carry 500,000 passengers daily with S-tog serving more than 357,000 passengers a day.

S-tog is complemented by regional trains, local diesel-powered trains within Metropolitan Copenhagen, an extensive bus network, and two lines of shuttle boats called harbour buses. The city's bus terminals are often adjacent to an S-train or Metro station. The different networks use a common system for fare zones and tickets.

Copenhagen S-train History

The lines used by the Copenhagen S-train suburban rail system in Denmark are six radial and two connecting rail lines, built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as commuter transport to and from the residential areas around the city centre.

The S-line aimed to electrify the existing local rail network around Copenhagen. Preparations for the decision were made in the Electrification Commission of 1926, following several other approaches to plans. The Commission presented a report in 1929, in which it proposed that short-distance lines from Copenhagen to Klampenborg, as well as possibly Frederiksberg-Vanløse-Hellerup, should be electrified first – then the line to Holte, when the double track Holte-Hillerød was taken into use for the ordinary trains. After consideration of the proposal by DSB, the section to Valby was added as the first stage for electrification of the section to Ballerup, and a bill was submitted and adopted in April 1930.

The first section opened on 3 April 1934, and ran from Klampenborg to Hellerup and Vanløse to Frederiksberg. It was the first electrically powered railway in Denmark.

Stations were marked from the beginning with an "S" similar to those in the Berlin S-train system. There is a debate around the origin of the name "S-tog" ("S-train") with many citing that the name of the system came from a competition in the newspaper Politiken. The judges' panel cited a long list of possible explanations for the "S" in S-tog, including: "state railways", "city railway", "Greater Copenhagen", "sun", "lake", "forest", "beach", "snow", "skiing", "skating", "sleigh", all of which start with an S in Danish. Larsen and Poulsen, however, challenge that this basis for the system name as an urban myth and that DSB had already determined the name. The names, though, demonstrate that the initial marketing of the S-trains emphasized recreational day trips from the city to the countryside.

Hellerup-to-Hillerød and Svanemøllen-to-Farum were existing lines reorganized into the new network, as was the line between Frederikssund and Valby. The section Valby – Vanløse opened in 1941, was extended to Ballerup in 1949, and then finally to Frederikssund in 1989. The system had single tracks between Ballerup and Veksø until 2000 and between Veksø and Frederikssund until 2002.

New tracks were established along the existing Valby – Høje Taastrup line between Valby – Glostrup, opening in 1953. It was extended to Taastrup in 1963, and then in 1986 to its final destination at Høje Taastrup.

A completely new line, the Køge Bay line, was built between Dybbølsbro and Køge in four stages: Dybbølsbro to Vallensbæk opened in 1972, Vallensbæk to Hundige in 1976, Hundige to Solrød Strand in 1979, and then finally to Køge in 1983.

The Frederiksberg – Vanløse – Grøndal line was closed with the arrival of the Copenhagen Metro. The former GoDSBaneringen Grøndal – Ny Ellebjerg route has been converted to an S-line.

Originally no letters or numbers were used for the individual lines, but with the introduction of the summer timetable on 14 May 1950, the system moved to line letters.

The S-train system has been entirely one-man operated since 1978.

Copenhagen S-train Overview

Copenhagen S-train Locale: Copenhagen urban area
Copenhagen S-train Transit Type: Commuter rail
Copenhagen S-train Number of Lines: 7 with 7 services
Copenhagen S-train Number of Stations: 87
Copenhagen S-train Annual Ridership: 116 million (2016)
Copenhagen S-train Began Operation: 1934
Copenhagen S-train Operator(s): DSB S-tog
Copenhagen S-train System Length: 170 km
Copenhagen S-train Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Copenhagen S-train Electrification: 1,650 V DC overhead lines
Copenhagen S-train Top Speed: 120 km/h (75 mph)