Very few people have actually heard of it, and yet this project could profoundly transform the way we travel between Northern Europe and the rest of the continent. It's called Fehmarnbelt tunnel. Approximately 18 kilometers long, it will soon link Germany and Denmark under the Baltic Sea, enabling the two countries to cross the strait. in just seven minutes by train.
Today, Europe is fairly well connected by rail. The major capital cities are well connected, thanks in particular to the high-speed lines that are increasingly structuring territories and borders. But there are still a few geographical barriers that slow down the flow of traffic. One of the most emblematic is between Hamburg and Copenhagen.
If you take a train from Paris to Copenhagen The journey to Hamburg runs smoothly. But between Germany and Denmark lies an arm of the sea about 18 kilometers: the Fehmarnbelt. On a map, this strait may seem almost insignificant. In reality, it has long been a strategic bottleneck which complicates trade between Scandinavia and Central Europe. This is precisely what the Fehmarnbelt tunnel aims to remove.
Visit Fehmarnbelt tunnel will link Germany and Denmark under the Baltic Sea via an immersed tunnel of around 18 kmthe longest in the world for this type of infrastructure.
This project at 10 billion eurosfinanced mainly by Denmark, will connect Hamburg to Copenhagen in approx. 2.5 hours and cross the strait in 7 minutes by trainstrengthening the European rail corridor Scandinavia-Mediterranean.
But the site is also environmental controversiesSome NGOs are warning of the impact of dredging on the seabed and the risks to biodiversity in the Baltic Sea.
Between Hamburg and Copenhagen lies a relatively short strait: the Fehmarnbelt. It separates the German island of Fehmarn on the Danish island of Lolland.
But despite its narrow width, this passageway has long been an important major logistical obstacle on the axis linking Scandinavia to Central Europe.
This bottleneck slows down trains, complicates goods flows and limits the fluidity of travel between the north and south of the continent.
For a long time, there was a rather unusual solution for crossing this strait. Trains entered directly into a ferry, which crossed the Baltic Sea for around forty minutes before returning to the Danish side.
An ingenious system, but also a fragile one. The crossing depended heavily on the weather which imposed timetables and could disrupt traffic in bad weather.
Crossing the Baltic Sea to connect Hamburg and Copenhagen: a real challenge
This ferry system has gone in 2019. Since then, trains have had to bypass the strait via northern Denmark. This detour adds around 160 kilometers to the journey. As a result, getting from Hamburg to Copenhagen now takes nearly five hours while the two cities are separated by only a few kilometres. less than 300 kilometers as the crow flies.
In other words, the last major rail link between Scandinavia and Central Europe is still there.
Because this passageway is located on a major economic axis: the Scandinavia-Mediterranean corridor. If we draw an almost vertical line between Stockholm and Milan, we obtain one of the continent's major economic axes. This axis is part of the TEN-T network, the European program designed to connect and modernize transport infrastructures.
The objective is simple: to enable Europe to function as a coherent economic area, without technical breaks or geographical obstacles. And this is precisely what the Fehmarnbelt tunnel seeks to solve.
The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will measure approximately 18 kilometers. It will welcome two electrified railroad lines and a two-lane freeway in each direction. And above all, it will become the world's longest submerged road and rail tunnel.
The nuance is important: unlike the Channel Tunnel, this one will not be dug deep under the sea.
The Channel Tunnel was built using huge tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that cut through the rock beneath the seabed. The Fehmarnbelt is based on a completely different approach. Here, engineers dig a wide trench in the seabed of the Baltic Sea, then deposit the tunnel sections before covering them. In other words, instead of drilling a tube under the sea, the tunnel is laid directly on the seabed.
The first stage of the project involved dredging the seabed. Specialized vessels sucked up sand and sediment and dug a huge trench under the sea. In all, around 15 million cubic metres of sand and clay were extracted. These materials were then reused to extend the coastline near Lolland Denmark, to create new natural and recreational areas.
The tunnel will consist of 89 concrete elements: 79 standard elements and 10 special elements for technical equipment. Each standard element is approximately 217 meters long, 42 meters wide and weighs over 73,000 tonnes.
These giant blocks are manufactured in a huge factory built especially for the project. Once completed, they are floated like huge concrete boats, then towed to their final position. A special platform then slowly lowers them into the trench, some 40 meters underwater, before sealing them together.
A method often compared to a gigantic LEGO set: assemble giant pieces to create a continuous 18-kilometre structure.
The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is part of the network logic trans-European transport network (TEN-T). This program aims to connect the continent's major economic regions to facilitate trade and reduce geographical divides.
On this north-south axis, Scandinavia remains relatively peripheral despite its political integration into the European Union. Nevertheless, Sweden and Finland export massively to Germany and Central Europe, particularly wood, steel and industrial products.
The B1M - © OpenStreetMap contributors
Today, most freight trains between Germany and Sweden pass through the Storebælt bridge in the heart of Denmark. But these freight trains are extremely long and heavy, which creates a major bottleneck. bottleneck on the Danish rail network.
With the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, some of this traffic will be able to take a more direct route. As a result, the network will be smoother and more capacity can be freed up for passenger trains.
For passengers, the impact could be very tangible. Today, the journey Hamburg - Copenhagen takes about 4:30 to 5 a.m.. With the tunnel, it could fall to about 2h30.
A transformation that changes the very nature of the relationship between the two cities: two and a half hours is a journey that can be envisaged during the day for a business trip.
This new accessibility could also transform the way people visit the country. Once you've arrived in Copenhagen, it's much simpler to continue by train to other Danish destinations, such as Aarhus the country's second largest city.
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What to do in Aarhus, Denmark?
A city known for its intimate atmosphere, world-renowned museums and vibrant gastronomic scene. Thanks to the rail network and short distances, it's easy to explore the region and its natural spaces.
Who's footing the bill? The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is mainly financed by the Denmark The Danish government guarantees the loans taken out to finance the project. The Danish government guarantees the loans contracted to finance the project, while the infrastructure will be repaid gradually over several decades.
How do we do it? Thanks to road tolls and rail charges paid for by tunnel users. This financing model is not unprecedented: it is part of a very long-term infrastructure logic, in which revenues generated by future traffic are used to repay investments made today.
It should be noted that while Denmark is financing the tunnel itself, Germany to take charge of access arrangements on the German side These include the modernization of the railroad line and road infrastructure in Schleswig-Holstein.
This model is part of a very special Danish tradition: that of "fixed links". For several decades, the country has been investing in permanent infrastructure - bridges and tunnels - to gradually replace ferries between its islands and the mainland.
Two emblematic projects illustrate this strategy:
These structures have profoundly transformed the country's economic geography. Where once you had to wait for a ferry, now travel is continuous and much faster. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is part of this logic: transforming a sea crossing into a permanent connection to continental Europe.
On the one hand, in a context where the European Union is seeking to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, transport seems to represent a major challenge. The sector accounts for almost a quarter of European emissions with road transport dominating.
By strengthening rail continuity between Northern and Central Europe, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel could encourage modal shift to rail. It won't eliminate trucks or regional flights, but it could reduce their advantage on certain routes.
Source: European Environment Agency
On the other hand, the project has also given rise to numerous environmental controversies. The Fehmarnbelt Strait is an important sensitive marine ecosystem located in a Baltic Sea protected area and home to several species important for local biodiversity.
Among the concerns expressed by NGOs and researchers :
Dredging represents the site's biggest environmental impact sediment dispersion can temporarily disrupt marine ecosystems and benthic habitats.
Some environmental organizations, such as the German NGO NABU have also criticized the project, arguing that its ecological benefits could be limited, particularly due to the presence of road lanes in the tunnel which will continue to receive automobile traffic.
© FermernAS
Legal action has also been taken in Germany by local associations and groups opposed to the project, citing the risks to biodiversity and the impact on Natura 2000 areas.
As with any mega-infrastructure project, the question of profitability is open to debate. The economic model is based on a simple assumption: traffic will gradually increase over the decades This was driven by economic exchanges between Scandinavia and Central Europe.
But some observers remain cautious. In Germany, the Federal Court of Audit expressed reservations about the traffic forecasts. If the number of vehicles or trains using the tunnel turns out to be lower than estimated, repayment of the investment could take some time. longer than expected.
Another factor of uncertainty is the competition from existing ferries between Germany and Denmark who could adjust their rates to remain competitive.
Added to this is a more political criticism: unlike the Channel Tunnel, which created an entirely new link between two major markets, the Fehmarnbelt optimizes an existing axis rather than creating a new one. Its impact will therefore depend largely on the evolution of transport flows over the coming decades.
In the background, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel tells a story that goes far beyond its 18 kilometers of concrete. It's the story of a Europe striving to connect its territories across borders and build a more coherent rail network across the continent. The project has now entered a decisive phase. After the symbolic inauguration of the first element by King Frederik X in 2024, the year 2026 marks the beginning of the immersion of the giant blocks in the Baltic Sea. Opening was originally scheduled for 2029, but technical challenges could postpone full commissioning until the end of the year. early 2030s. To be continued...
Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
