Rail | Fehmarnbelt
Finishing The Jigsaw
The world’s longest combined road and rail immersed tunnel, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel under the Baltic Sea will finally connect Scandinavia to Europe in 2021, says Judith Baker.
A
n ambitious new project that could transform Europe is underway. Denmark’s £5 billion road
and rail immersed link to Germany is described as the ‘missing piece of the jigsaw connecting Scandinavia to Central Europe’ and offers many opportunities for British companies to get involved. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel under the Baltic Sea will connect Scandinavia to Europe’s heartlands when it opens in 2021. At 18 km, it will be the world’s longest submersed road/rail tunnel and will feature some of the most advanced and innovative technology in both its design and its construction. Connecting southern Denmark with northern Germany, the undertaking is one of the world’s major infrastructure projects and is currently northern Europe’s largest transport project. Traffic across the Fehmarnbelt is expected to see a 40 per cent increase in the first years following its opening. The EUR 5.5 billion investment
will deliver: l a core corridor in Europe’s transport network; l a 45 minute saving by road and 90 by train; l ease and convenience of travel; l 24/7 availability, immune to weather conditions; l major environmental benefits; and l business & leisure opportunities. The Fehmarnbelt is an 18 km wide strait between the islands of
global-opportunity.co.uk
Lolland and Fehmarn (Denmark and Germany respectively). The tunnel will comprise a dual track railway and a four-lane motorway. The related upgrades to the infrastructure on either side of the strait will significantly reduce the journey time and ease of travel between Copenhagen and Hamburg and will feed on into the main travel links in each direction. Speaking at a special seminar organised by UKTI to explain the project and its implications. Stig Rømer Winther, Director of Femern Belt Development said he was actively collaborating with UK and other foreign companies as part of his mission to build relationships with businesses for this huge project. The Femern Belt Development Foundation is a development company that publicises knowledge and information about the business and tourism opportunities that the Fehmarn-belt fixed link will offer Region Zealand. Region Zealand is one of the areas comprising the ‘Fehmarnbelt Region’ along with Region Scania in Sweden and the capital region of Denmark in east Denmark and Northern Germany as represented by Hamburg. “There will be huge international competition for tenders” explained Stig Rømer Winther, adding that the belt will involve £5 billion worth of infrastructure to enhance the regional development. “I hope this link will help create a North Europe
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