Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link

railway

Cities

Distance

18km

new

18km

rehabilitated

– km

existing

– km

Cost

$8.4b

$8,442,956,000

Phases

underConstruction, 2029

Objective

To replace a busy sea ferry link between Denmark and Germany, slashing rail travel between Copenhagen and Hamburg to just two and a half hours, while closing a major geographic gap in European trade.

Description

A 18-kilometer immersed tunnel sinking beneath the Baltic Sea, combining a dual-carriageway four-lane motorway with a two-track high-speed electrified railway.

History

Germany and Denmark signed a historic state treaty in 2008 to build a fixed link. Denmark chose an immersed tunnel over a bridge in 2011. Pre-construction was delayed for nearly a decade by complex German environmental court challenges from environmental groups and ferry operators, concluding with a final green light from the German Federal Administrative Court in late 2020.