The existing railway connection between Copenhagen and Ringsted, a city located at a distance of 60 km from the Danish capital, through Roskilde, is one of the most important and crowded railway routes in Denmark, used for freight and passenger services. The construction of the double electrified railway between Copenhagen and Ringsted, through Køge, was initiated in 2012 and, when completed, it will be the first high-speed railway in Denmark, designed for speeds of over 250 km/h.
With a budget of EUR 1.4 billion, the railway is Denmark’s first major railway project in the past years, including the construction of a branch of 60 km crossing 10 municipalities. The new railway will be of international interest, part of the TEN-T network that will connect Scandinavia to the rest of Europe. It will also be an essential part of the freight corridor from northern Sweden to northern Italy. Apart from the construction of the railway, the project also includes the installation of new platforms in Ny Ellebjerg Station for regional and long-distance trains, the construction of a new station in Køge Nord to connect it to a new station on the S-train line, a link from Køge Nord for Lille Syd railway to Køge and Næstved and the rehabilitation of Ringsted Station.
This year, Strukton Rail announced they completed the laying the tracks on Copenhagen-Ringsted route, through Køge. The route will be commissioned under the initial plan in December 2018.
“This is an important milestone for Banedanmark, and we take pride in saying we have laid the last rails and sleepers for Denmark’s first high-speed railway. Now all that remains is to lay the final layers of ballast and make final adjustments to the tracks before we can begin on the next stage of the project, setting up power masts, electrifying the rails and establishing the new signals system,” Jette Aagaard, project director Banedanmark, said.
To meet the deadline, 2 km of track were laid per day, the equivalent of 3,200 sleepers and 4 km of rails.). “The construction of the railway has exceeded all expectations. (…) We look forward to continuing our good working relationship with Banedanmark in making Denmark’s first high-speed railway a success,” Jacky Dalby, project director Strukton Denmark said.
When the railway becomes operational, the travel time on the rail network will be reduced significantly: for example, the current travel time from Køge Station to Copenhagen H is 38 minutes and will be reduced by 14 minutes (to 24 minutes) on the new railway. The travel time could be further reduced to 20 minutes for non-stop transport services on Køge – Copenhagen. The current travel time from Haslev to the capital is 59 minutes, but with the new line, with direct regional links, the time travel will be reduced by 21 minutes (to 38 minutes/travel). Another time-saving project, by 16 minutes, will be on Hårlev – Copenhagen route, on the eastern, Østbanen railway: at the moment, the travel time on the route is 61 minutes with transfers, but with the new line, the travel time will be reduced to 45 minutes.
by Pamela Luica
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