The first section of a new underwater tunnel between Denmark and Germany was inaugurated on 17 June and will be submerged into a seabed trench later this year, with transport through it expected in 2029. First planned in 2011, the Fehmarnbelt link will be the world’s longest underwater rail and road tunnel when it is completed. Running 18 kilometres under the Baltic Sea, the tunnel will connect Roedby, on the island of Lolland in southern Denmark, to Puttgarten, on the northern German island of Fehmarn.
The tunnel promises to transform journey times between the two countries. A 45-minute ferry journey aboard a German-Danish Scandlines vessel is the current norm, but the new tunnel is expected to slash that, with four-lane road transport offering the possibility of crossing the Baltic by car in around 10 minutes. The train route meanwhile is anticipated to take just 7 minutes.
Unlike the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK, the Fehmarnbelt will be composed of 89 prefabricated submersible elements and is budgeted at €4.8 billion. The Channel Tunnel, which was bored, would have cost €14 billion in today’s terms.
Preparation work began on the Danish side in 2022, with the construction of a new harbour at Roedbyhavn on Lolland, and in Germany in 2023. The concrete sections are being made at a special plant in Roedbyhavn, which some say is northern Europe’s largest construction site. The amount of steel going into the project could make 50 Eiffel Towers, CNN has estimated.
Hailed as part of a green transition for freight and commuters between the two countries, the link’s first 217-metre section was cast in May and commemorated by Danish King Frederik X on 24 June. He marked the occasion by unveiling a plaque and contributing a coin and an effigy of himself to a time capsule created by the concrete manufacturer behind the tunnel’s components. The tunnel section will be dropped into a Danish-side seabed trench later this year.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency is supporting the project to the tune of over €1 billion. The rest of the funding for the initiative is coming from the Danish side, with decisions still to be made on how future tolls might help to recuperate the investment.
The first #tunnel element of the Fehmarnbelt link between #Denmark and #Germany has been completed – Congratulations to all those involved!
— CINEA🇪🇺 (@cinea_eu) June 17, 2024
The #EU #CEFTransport programme is supporting the project with over €1 billion.#EUGreenDeal pic.twitter.com/QqKfrpriva
Since the end of the 20th century, Denmark has completed a number of infrastructure projects improving transport links between it and the rest of Europe, but not all are popular. Responding to the Fehmarnbelt news, some on X wondered if the tunnel would be as expensive to use as the Copenhagen-Malmö bridge.
