The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Project HistoryThe Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Project HistoryThe Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2007 An interim agreement was reached in Berlin between the Danish and German authorities on 29 June (represented by their transport ministers) to proceed with the construction of the fixed link. Details provided by Danmarks Radio stated that the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link would run 19 km (12 mi) from a point about 2 km (1 mi) east of Rødby in Denmark to Puttgarden on the island of Fehmarn which was already connected by bridge to the German mainland. Construction would start in 2015 and was expected to be completed by the end of 2021. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2008 On 3 September, the ministers of transportation from Denmark and Germany, Carina Christensen and Wolfgang Tiefensee, signed the treaty for the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link at a ceremony held in Copenhagen. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2009 On 26 March, the construction was ratified by the Danish Parliament, and approved by the German Parliament on 18 June. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2010 It was announced in December that a tunnel would be used rather than a bridge, as this would present fewer construction risks than a cable-stayed bridge that would be pushing the limits of the technology. The cost and the construction time would be roughly the same. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2011 In January, a large majority of the parties in the Danish Parliament voted to support a tunnel solution. However, national approval procedures in both countries needed to be completed. In Germany, this involved the application for a plan approval process. In Denmark, the project would require the passage in Parliament of a Construction Act. On 16 December, the German Government announced it was postponing development of the railway link to the Fehmarn Tunnel until after 2015. According to a report in Der Nordschleswiger, German Traffic Minister Peter Ramsauer decided to reduce planned government investment in new infrastructure in Germany by 25 per cent due to the economic crisis. It was not immediately clear what effect the postponement would have on the overall Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link project. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2013 In October 2013, the tunnel company applied to German authorities for approval according to environmental law and other laws of Germany and EU. This was rejected in 2015 because new legislation that appeared in the meantime was not accounted for. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2015 On 25 February, the bill for the Construction Act for the Fehmarn belt link was introduced in the Danish Parliament. On 26 February, the Danish Ministry of Transport submitted an application for an EU grant of DKK 13 billion (€1.7 billion) for the project's construction phase. The application was accompanied by letters of support from the Swedish Minister for Infrastructure, Anna Johansson, and the German Transport Minister, Alexander Dobrindt. In addition, the German State Government of Schleswig-Holstein, as well as a wide range of business organisations from the Danish, Swedish, and German sides, sent statements supporting the application. EU finally approved DKK 6.92 billion in total for the tunnel and the connecting Danish railway, around 15% of the cost. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2016 On 13 June, the tunnel company applied again to German authorities for approval, based on an updated application of 11,000 pages adopted to new legal principles that appeared since last application. It was expected that this process would be complete in 2018. It expected that two further years would be spent in court processes, since political objectors had stated they would appeal the authority approval. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2018 On 28 December, the German authority decided to approve the project. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2019 On 6 February, Femern A/S received German plan approval for the tunnel. This had been appealed to the Federal Administrative Court by political objectors. DB Netz AG submitted a document to the BMVI detailing variants of the rail connection to the tunnel later that same month. The railway plans would need approval by the German Parliament. In March, Femern A/S decided on a Government request to start large preparatory work on land, such as building a factory for concrete tunnel elements, in anticipation of a positive German court decision later. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2020 On 3 March, the German Federal Ministry of Transport, the State of Schleswig-Holstein and Deutsche Bahn announced that a new 1.7 km long immersed Fehmarn Sound Tunnel (German: Fehmarnsundtunnel) with four road lanes and two rail tracks, costing approximately €714 million, is scheduled to be built by 2028, while the current Fehmarn Sound Bridge, which was at risk of becoming a bottleneck, would be preserved for pedestrians, cyclists and slow road traffic. On 30 April, it was announced by Femern A/S that work was scheduled to begin on 1 January 2021, although it was possible that this would be delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Femern had already begun a number of pre-construction activities at Puttgarden. On 3 November, the Federal Administrative Court ruled that the project could be built, but some reefs would have to be considered. The Naturschutzbund Deutschland described it as a "dark day for the marine environment". Sabine Leidig (Die Linke) commented: "The ecological effects and the burden upon the neighbours of this giant project are much too large, compared to its small utility." The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2021 On 1 January, work began on the actual tunnel construction, with an official online ceremony. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2022
On 6 January, the dredging work for the tunnel was 70% completed. In July, the German work harbor became operational and in August the tunnel element factory was completed. In December, the first tunnel element was finished and it was expected to be immersed in the Fehmarnbelt in 2024. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link 2024 On 15 April, construction work on the railway link from Puttgarden to Lübeck started on Fehmarn. Some of the sections of the German railway project, mainly south of Altenkrempe, were at this time still under re-planning after being dismissed by authorities. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Criticism The crossing has been discussed since before the reunification of Germany, when the only possible link was towards Hamburg, as going towards Communist East Germany was not a viable option. Although times have changed and Europe has been politically and economically reshaped in the meantime, the plans for the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link have stayed the course. The Cold War era conceptualization of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link has been highly criticized, as some see connecting the two capitals of Copenhagen and Berlin and on a larger scale, a link from Scandinavia to the former Warsaw Pact countries as a priority of the utmost importance. A Gedser–Rostock Bridge, about 50 km (31 mi) further east, has been proposed as an alternative or to complement the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, as this alternative proposal would better connect eastern Germany including Berlin and places further east and south with Scandinavia. Despite an offer to help offset the costs of the tunnel by the Danish Cyclists' Federation, it is not planned to include a cycle path. There have been objections from local people on the German side, both from those fearing the loss of jobs in connection with the present busy ferry traffic, and from environmental protectionists who believed that wildlife would suffer from the construction of the originally conceived bridge. At the same time, employment connected to construction works would be only short-term, while residents would suffer from the increase in traffic, especially with the planned freight trains which would move from the present Jutland-Great Belt Fixed Link route. In particular, there are concerns with the potential increase of train noise for some residents with moving the freight train traffic from the current route to this new route. These critics have been the loudest and they have been able to get a realignment of the planned railway route. The present Hamburg freight rail bypass used today for the freight traffic, is disturbing more people than the villages north of Lübeck. Furthermore, it is claimed that the project might be economically unjustified, as predictions of passenger traffic and goods transport may be overestimated and there is a considerable risk that the investment will not be recouped. The European Court of Auditors has criticized the planning of the German land connection for letting costs rise uncontrolled. This cost is more than double what would be if following the legal requirements for a 160 km/h (100 mph) railway (the originally decided speed). Local lobbyists have been allowed to get things such as realignment and extra noise protection. In 2019, the Bundesrechnungshof commented that "in view of the current traffic forecasts, it is questionable whether the benefits of the project will increase to such an extent that the expected costs are justified under economic aspects". The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Support There have been complaints from some Swedish politicians over long train travel times between Sweden and Germany, and the lack of night trains. This made train travel, for example from Stockholm to Brussels, impossible unless one night is spent in a hotel en route. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link would improve the travel time and make it possible to travel between Copenhagen and Hamburg in two and a half hours. In 2020, the Swedish Government decided to financially support international night trains from Stockholm to mainland Europe, one from Stockholm via Copenhagen to Hamburg, which began operations by SJ in September 2022, and another one from Malmö to Brussels, which was not bid for and did not commence. On top of these, there is a commercially operated night train from Stockholm to Berlin via Copenhagen and Hamburg, going in popular seasons, mainly summer time, which is operated by Snälltåget and started June 2021. Before 2021, a night train operated under various operators Malmö-Berlin (originally longer route) from 1909 to 2020 through the Trelleborg–Sassnitz ferry. Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Overview Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Official Name: Femernbælt Link Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Coordinates: 54°34′33″N 11°18′20″E Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Status: Under construction Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Crosses: Fehmarn Belt Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Work Begun: 1 January 2021 Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Opens: mid-2029 Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Owner: Femern A/S Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Traffic: rail and road Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Toll: yes Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Technical Length: 17.6 km (10.9 mi) Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link No. of Tracks: 2 Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link No. of Lanes: 4 Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Electrified: yes Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Operating Speed: 200 km/h (125 mph) | |||||
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