Rail transport in Denmark
Encyclopedia
The rail transport system in Denmark consists of about 2,600 km of railway lines, of which only the Copenhagen S-train
S-Train
The S-train network is a combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network of Metropolitan Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the city center with the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, and has close to half of the stations within the urban city. The first line was opened in 1934...

 network and the main line Helsingør-Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

-Padborg
Padborg
Padborg is a Danish border town with a population of 4,486 located on the border with Germany. It is the location where both the E45 motorway, a railway and the historic Danish Army Road, hærvejen, cross the border...

 (at the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 border) are electrified. Most traffic is passenger trains, although there is considerable transit goods traffic between Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Maintenance work on most Danish railway lines is done by Banedanmark
Banedanmark
Banedanmark is a Danish company responsible for maintenance and traffic control of most of the Danish railway network...

, a state-owned company that also allocates tracks for train operators. The majority of passenger trains are operated by DSB
Danske Statsbaner
DSB, an abbreviation of Danske Statsbaner , is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goods transport and railway maintenance are outside its scope...

, with Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...

 operating on some lines in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

. Goods transport is mainly performed by DB Schenker Rail, although other operators take care of a significant portion of the non-transit traffic.

Denmark is a member of the International Union of Railways
International Union of Railways
The UIC , or International Union of Railways, is an international rail transport industry body.- Brief history :The railways of Europe originated as separate concerns. There were many border changes after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Colonial railways were the responsibility of the...

 (UIC). The UIC Country Code
UIC Country Code
The UIC Country Code is a two digit number used to identify member countries of the International Union of Railways . The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock and train stations that both contain the UIC Country Code. The values are defined in UIC leaflet 920-14.-Table of Codes:-...

 for Denmark is 86.

Tracks

Banedanmark
Banedanmark
Banedanmark is a Danish company responsible for maintenance and traffic control of most of the Danish railway network...

 is in charge of 2,132 km of railway lines, which do not include the lines controlled by private railways. All Danish railways are (standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

), with the exception of a few narrow gauge museum railways; gauge was previously common on branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

s, with being prevalent on industry railways
Industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...

, such as those for transporting sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...

s. The narrow gauge lines generally disappeared during the 1950s and 60s.

The maximum speed allowed on main lines is generally 180 km/h, with less trafficked lines usually allowing between 75 and 120 km/h; the speed may be lowered in places due to the condition of the track. While wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

en sleepers
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...

 are used on sidings and branch lines, concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 sleepers are the norm on all main lines; the common two-block concrete sleepers are now being phased out in favour of monoblock ones.

The age of the tracks in Banedanmark's network has become increasingly problematic in later years. A 2002/03 analysis of Banestyrelsen's (now Banedanmark) network states that the average age of the track is too high, with a present average age of 24 years compared to the recommended 20 years.

Electrification

General-purpose electric propulsion was adopted quite recently in Denmark; the political decision to electrify
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...

 the main lines was made in 1979. The first line to be electrified was Copenhagen–Elsinore
Kystbanen
The Coast Line is a regional railway line between Helsingør and Copenhagen in Denmark. It was opened in 1897, and it is today the busiest railway line in Denmark...

, electrified in 1986, followed by the main line across Zealand, Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...

 and South Jutland in the 1980s–90s. On the main lines that are equipped with them, the overhead lines
Overhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...

 carry 25 kV AC
25 kV AC
The 25 kV Alternating current railway electrification system is commonly used in railways worldwide, especially for high-speed rail.-Overview:This electrification system is ideal for railways that cover long distances and/or carry heavy traffic...

 at 50 Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

. The system is used on the main line from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 through Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 to Fredericia
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...

, and from there to Padborg
Padborg
Padborg is a Danish border town with a population of 4,486 located on the border with Germany. It is the location where both the E45 motorway, a railway and the historic Danish Army Road, hærvejen, cross the border...

 and the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 border. 25 kV AC at 50 Hz is better from technical point of view. However, both Sweden and Germany use 15 kV
15 kV AC
The AC railway electrification system is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway. The high voltage enables high power transmission with low losses powering traction motors available since the beginning of the 20th century...

 at 16 Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

, and the multi-system class EG goods locomotive is equipped for both 25 and 15 kV.

The S-train
S-Train
The S-train network is a combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network of Metropolitan Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the city center with the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, and has close to half of the stations within the urban city. The first line was opened in 1934...

 network in Copenhagen operates at 1650 V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

 DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

, supplied from overhead lines; the Copenhagen Metro
Copenhagen Metro
Copenhagen Metro is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and...

 uses 750 V DC, supplied from a third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...

.

Since there are heavy delays (several years) with the construction of the new diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

 IC4
IC4
The IC4 is an inter-city train built by Italian AnsaldoBreda for the trans-Great Belt routes of Danske Statsbaner , Denmark's national railway operator. Under DSB's ‘Good trains for everyone’ plan , the intent of the IC4 project was to replace several types of outdated rolling stock...

, many debators argue that it is better to electrify major railways and purchase electric multiple units instead, since that is a more common product. At least the routes Fredericia
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...

-Ålborg and Kolding
Kolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...

-Esbjerg
Esbjerg
Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...

 must be electrifed in order to run electric passenger trains between Jutland and Copenhagen. The government has in 2009 decided to delay all electrification for several years until the new signal system ERTMS
European Rail Traffic Management System
The European Rail Traffic Management System is an initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and signalling procurement by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems....

 is introduced, since electrification earlier than that requires rebuilding of the existing signal system.

Safety and signalling

Main lines were equipped with the ATC
Automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control is a train protection system for railways, ensuring the safe and smooth operation of trains on ATC-enabled lines. Its main advantages include making possible the use of cab signalling instead of track-side signals and the use of smooth deceleration patterns in lieu of the...

 safety system during the 1990s, with a partial, cheaper implementation, ATC train stop
Train stop
Part of a railway signalling system, a train stop or trip stop is a train protection device that automatically stops a train if it attempts to pass a signal when the signal aspect and operating rules prohibit such movement, or if it attempts to pass at an excessive speed.- Basic operation :The...

, being used on some (but not all) branch lines. A different system, HKT, which was introduced in 1975 and utilises cab signalling
Cab signalling
Cab signalling is a railway safety system that communicates track status information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit, where the train driver or engine driver can see the information....

, is used on the S-train
S-Train
The S-train network is a combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network of Metropolitan Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the city center with the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, and has close to half of the stations within the urban city. The first line was opened in 1934...

 network, although a simplified version, "forenklet HKT" (F-HKT), is used on some of the lines.

In order to replace the different and ageing signal systems, it has been decided to replace all current signal systems on Banedanmark
Banedanmark
Banedanmark is a Danish company responsible for maintenance and traffic control of most of the Danish railway network...

's active network, except the S-train lines, with ERTMS
European Rail Traffic Management System
The European Rail Traffic Management System is an initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and signalling procurement by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems....

 level 2, relying entirely on cab signalling; general rollout is scheduled for 2018–21. The S-train network is set to be refitted with a suitable urban rail system, possibly a CBTC system allowing driverless trains
Automatic train operation
Automatic train operation ensures partial or complete automatic train piloting and driverless functions.Most systems elect to maintain a driver to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies....

, by 2020.

Connection to adjacent countries by rail

Connections to Sweden
Rail transport in Sweden
Rail transport in Sweden uses a network of 13,000 km of track, the 20th largest in the world. Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator is the state-owned SJ AB....

 use the Oresund Railway
Oresund Railway
Oresund Line is a railway between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden via the Oresund Bridge. On the Swedish side the railway infrastructure is managed by Swedish Transport Administration, on the Danish side the railway infrastructure is managed by Banedanmark.The railway line continues from...

 across Oresund Bridge
Oresund Bridge
The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined twin-track railway and dual carriageway bridge-tunnel across the Øresund strait.The bridge connects Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest road and rail bridge in Europe. The Øresund Bridge also connects two major Metropolitan Areas: those of the...

 and are SJ
SJ AB
SJ is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2000, out of the public transport division of Statens Järnvägar, when the former government agency was divided into six separate government-owned limited companies.-Overview:SJ's operations fall broadly into subsidised...

's X 2000
X 2000
X 2000 is the brand name of Sweden's tilting 200 km/h high-speed train class X2, which was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden and operated by SJ. It was launched in 1990 as a first-class only train with a meal included in the ticket price, and free use of the train's fax machine...

 service to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, or frequent Oresundtrain
Oresundtrain
Oresundtrain or Øresundståg is a regional rail network serving the Oresund Region. The train consists of multiple units manufactured by Bombardier Transportation in Kalmar, previously known as Kalmar Verkstad and lately in Hennigsdorf by LEW Hennigsdorf...

commuter services to Malmö Central Station
Malmö Central Station
Malmö Central Station is a terminus railway station on the Southern Main Line in Malmö, Sweden opened in 1876. It serves approximately 55 000 passengers every day, making it the second busiest in Sweden behind Stockholm Central Station-History:...

 and beyond.

There are 3 connection to Germany
Rail transport in Germany
, Germany had a railway network of 41,315 km. 19,857 km are electrified. The total track length was 76,473 km. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Germany is 80.-Overview:...

. At the Vogelfluglinie
Vogelfluglinie
The ' or ' is a transport corridor between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Hamburg, Germany.As the Danish and German names imply, the corridor is also an important bird migration route between arctic Scandinavia and Central Europe.-Ferry link:The core of the connection is the ferry link between Rødby ...

route, EuroCity
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria. The EuroCity label replaces the older Trans Europ Express name for...

 and ICE uses the train ferry
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...

 from Rødby
Rødby
Rødby is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lolland in Denmark. The former Rødby municipality covered an area of 120 km², and had a total population of 6,590...

 (Denmark) to Puttgarden
Puttgarden
Puttgarden is a ferry harbour and a village on the German island of Fehmarn. It lies on an important route between Germany and Denmark known as the Vogelfluglinie which crosses the 18 km strait, the Fehmarnbelt, to Rødby on the island of Lolland....

 on the island of Fehmarn
Fehmarn
Fehmarn is an island and - since 2003 - a town on this island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and ca. 18 kilometers south of the Danish island of Lolland...

 (Germany), at this point the train proceeds via Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...

 and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. At Padborg
Padborg
Padborg is a Danish border town with a population of 4,486 located on the border with Germany. It is the location where both the E45 motorway, a railway and the historic Danish Army Road, hærvejen, cross the border...

 ICE, Intercity
Inter-city rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that cover longer distances than commuter or regional trains.There is no precise definition of inter-city rail. Its meaning may vary from country to country...

 and regional trains continues to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 via Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

. Also EuroNight
EuroNight
EuroNight, abbreviated EN, denotes all main-line national and international night train services within the European inter-city rail network. Unlike the equivalent day-running counterparts EuroCity and InterCity trains, the EuroNight trains tend to run during the nighttime and are equipped with...

 and CityNightLine
CityNightLine
CityNightLine AG was a Swiss night train service. CNL had right of passage grants in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Denmark. It served stations in Belgium, France, Italy and the Czech Republic...

 trains cross at Padborg
Padborg
Padborg is a Danish border town with a population of 4,486 located on the border with Germany. It is the location where both the E45 motorway, a railway and the historic Danish Army Road, hærvejen, cross the border...

, connecting Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 via Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

 via Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

 and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 via Nürnberg. The last crossing is between Tønder
Tønder
Tønder is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,278 km², and has a total population of 40,367...

 and Süderlügum
Süderlügum
Süderlügum |Mooring North Frisian]]: Läigem or Sööderläigem; Wiedingharde North Frisian: Leegem) is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the border with Denmark, approximately 35 km west of Flensburg, and 7 km southeast of...

 connecting to Niebüll
Niebüll
Niebüll is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the North Sea coast and the border with Denmark, approx. 35 km northwest of Husum.-International relations:...

.

See also

  • History of rail transport in Denmark
    History of rail transport in Denmark
    The history of rail transport in Denmark began in 1847 with the opening of a railway line between Copenhagen and Roskilde. The Kiel-Altona line in Holstein was completed three years earlier, but the region had been lost to the German Confederation in the Second War of Schleswig.The Danish national...

  • List of railway lines in Denmark
  • Transportation in Denmark
  • Rail transport by country
    Rail transport by country
    This page provides an index of articles on Rail transport by country.Other indexes available include:*List of railway companies by country*List of countries by rail transport network size*Rail usage statistics by country...


External links

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