Longest Underwater Rail Tunnel in the World Connecting 2 Major Cities is Finally Underway

The tunnel would connect the countries of Germany and Denmark through the ambitious new project.

It is more than 11 miles long and aims to shorten travel times between the two nations where it runs beneath the Fehmarn strait.

According to the report, Thomas Danielsen, the transport minister of Denmark, referred to the project as “a milestone in Danish history” during a ceremony to mark the progress. 

The milestone was reached upon the completion of the tunnel portal on Lolland. The tunnel is being built on both the German and Danish sides. The plan is that production of the materials for the tunnel will continue until 2027, and the tunnel itself will open in 2029.

The project is predicted to cost upward of €4.8 billion, equal to about $5.25 billion. The tunnel is part of the European Commission’s Ten-T Programme, which plans to strengthen transport links and interconnectivity across the continent. The EU itself contributed approximately $1.2 billion to the project.

This June, King Frederik X of Denmark inaugurated the first element of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, which was a milestone in the four-year construction. The first element of the tunnel was completed in June four years after construction started and over a decade after the creation of the original plan.

The waterway currently causes approximately 300 miles of road and rail detours on routes connecting the north and south. 

Additionally, this more direct route is anticipated to save drivers between the two zones an hour.

The tunnel’s effect on Baltic Sea reefs has also been questioned by others. 

The project is expected to be completed in 2029, by which point the journey between Hamburg and Copenhagen could be as short as two and a half hours. The tunnel will allow train services to cross the Danish border into Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Søren Have of the Copenhagen-based climate-focused think tank Concito released a statement regarding the project. 

“The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is such a project,” says Have in response to claims it could cause negative impacts on the environment.

NABU, a German environmentalist organization, has expressed concerns that the tunnel could damage the biodiversity in the Fehmarnbelt, which is an EU-protected area. The organization’s website claims the Baltic Sea is “already under extreme pressure from commercial use.” NABU’s page cites overfishing, overfertilization, offshore wind farms, shipping and bridge constructions as examples of abuse of the environment.

NABU called the approval to implement the project a “black day for the strictly protected porpoise and marine environment” in the Baltic Sea. NABU was one organization that was critical of the original plan that was laid out in 2011 which proposed to build a bridge rather than an underwater tunnel. With pressure from environmental advocates, porpoises are also better protected from munitions explosions during the construction period.

Michael Løvendal Kruse of the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, said, “New natural areas and stone reefs on the Danish and German sides will be created. Fast passage of the Belt will make trains a strong challenger for air traffic, and cargo on electric trains is by far the best solution for the environment.”

Overseas freight transport accounts for approximately a third of total freight transport. However, the transport of goods from Germany, Poland and the Baltic States does not require those goods to pass through Denmark. The Fehmarnbelt link may revolutionize the movement of goods overseas for the Scandinavian countries.

They say they are working toward climate neutral administration and operations by 2030, roughly when the project is expected to be finished. 

Conservationist groups question whether the project complies with the European Commission’s green targets. Malte Siegert, head of NABU, said, “This is not only a road-rail project, but you also have four lanes for cars and trucks. And from what we understand, it’s not really a benefit for a change of transportation in Europe.”

Henrik Vincentsen, the CEO of Femern A/S, told Euronews, “The tunnel will increase capacity and relieve congestion on the rail and road network in Denmark, and create significant savings in time, energy, fuel and CO2 emissions for transit traffic. This is why the European Commission has named the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel a priority project.”

According to Our World in Data, taking the train rather than driving for medium-length trips could cut pollution that contributes to global warming by around 80%. 

The bridge will consist of 89 massive concrete sections. Fermern A/S, the state-owned company based in Denmark, says that this is the largest and most advanced production project of its kind.

“The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will create a strategic corridor between Scandinavia and Central Europe. The upgraded railway transfer means more freight moving from road to rail, supporting a climate-friendly means of transport. We consider cross-border connections a tool for creating growth and jobs not only locally, but also nationally,” said Svane.

Clearing the way for longer train lines can shorten commute times for citizens commuting between the two nations. 

However, experts believe that through the use of electric vehicles it may help alleviate that issue. The tunnel will hopefully be ready for use by commuters by 2029.