Tue, 22 Apr 2025

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 The record-breaking tunnel being built from Denmark to Germany

The rail and road link will slash journey times between much of Scandinavia and continental Europe.
A massive tunnel project is underway under the Baltic Sea, connecting Denmark and Germany in a record-breaking feat of engineering. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will stretch 18km (11 miles) and serve as both a road and rail route, cutting travel times between the two countries significantly. The construction site on Lolland island is massive, spanning over 500 hectares, with a harbour and factory that's manufacturing sections of the tunnel called "elements". Each element measures 217m long and 42m wide, made from reinforced steel cast with concrete. Unlike traditional underwater tunnels, the Fehmarnbelt will use pre-fabricated elements, linked together like Lego bricks. This method is unprecedented in scale, according to Femern's chief executive Henrik Vincentsen. The tunnel is part of a wider EU plan to strengthen travel links across Europe while reducing flying. Once completed, the journey between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarten will take just 10 minutes by car or seven minutes by train, replacing a 45-minute ferry voyage. A bypassing western Denmark, the new rail route will halve travel times between Copenhagen and Hamburg from five to 2.5 hours, providing a "greener" shortcut for freight and passengers. The tunnel is expected to open in 2029 and will be used by over 100 trains and 12,000 cars each day. Femern estimates that toll fees collected will repay state-backed loans taken out to finance the construction within four decades.
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