Train in an underwater tunnel in Denmark. Öresund Bridge - the embodiment of a bold dream

The Oresund Bridge is a combined bridge-tunnel, on two levels of which cars and trains move across the Oresund Strait. This is the longest combined highway in Europe. People travel across the Oresund Bridge from the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, to the Swedish city of Malmö, so the bridge connects continental Europe with Sweden and Scandinavia. During construction, the idea of ​​bringing the two cities closer together and establishing closer ties between the main cities of the Oresund region was important. And the integration process is really happening: the Oresund Bridge company is Danish-Swedish, so both languages ​​are used in work and communication with clients. The company strives to make traveling across the bridge fast, safe and convenient. Passport control between countries has been abolished, and customs control has been simplified.

It was this bridge that became famous in the detective television series “The Bridge”.

Oresund Bridge fare

The cost of crossing the bridge depends on the type of transport:

• Motorcycles - 29 EUR;
• Cars up to 6 m long - 53 EUR;
• Cars with a length of 6-10 m / with a trailer - 106 EUR;
• Motorhomes over 10 m long – 198 EUR

If you cross the bridge more than once a year, you can additionally purchase a “BroPas” subscription for 43 EUR, which gives you the opportunity to travel across the bridge for one year. With such a ticket, the cost of travel for all subsequent times after the first will be halved. What's more, this annual subscription gives you access to an online booking system and discounts. With a “BroPas” subscription, the cost of trips after the first will be:

• Motorcycles - 7 EUR;
• Cars up to 6 m long - 14 EUR;
• Cars with a length of 6-10 m / with a trailer - 28 EUR;
• Motorhomes over 10 m long – 85.60 EUR

For those who cross the bridge more than 16 times a month, the best prices are offered. This is true for those who live on one side of the bridge and work on the other.

On weekdays from 5 pm to 12 noon there is a discount: travel on a motorcycle will cost 7 EUR, on a car up to 6 m long - 14 EUR, on a vehicle up to 9 m long - 28 EUR. It also applies to all holidays if you return back no less than 6 hours after arriving at the bridge. Six hours are counted from the moment you pass the payment station.

Payment is made in cash or by bank transfer using a card.

For the convenience of customers, the following lanes have been allocated at the toll station:

• Yellow- for cash payments and for motorcyclists.
• Greens— for users of BroBizz (a group of toll operators in the Scandinavian countries EasyGo).
• Blue— for payment by bank transfer using a card.

If you buy your ticket online, you can save a little:

• Motorcycles - 27 EUR;
• Cars up to 6 m long - 48 EUR;
• Cars with a length of 6-10 m / with a trailer - 96 EUR;
• Motorhomes over 10 m long – 190 EUR

It is important to remember that an online ticket must be purchased at least half an hour before traveling across the bridge. However, it will be valid for 30 days from purchase. Within 14 days from the date of purchase it is possible to return the ticket. To purchase online, you will need to provide your vehicle's license plate number. The ticket will then be sent to your email address.

You can also buy a combined ticket for the Oresund Bridge and ferry between Germany and Denmark: from the German port of Puttgarden to the Danish Rødby: from 78 to 144 EUR.

You can cross the Öresund Bridge by car in about 50 minutes, and by high-speed train in 30. But on the train you will not be able to admire the bridge, since the train travels on the lower level.

Bridge, island and tunnel

The bridge consists of three main parts: a bridge, an artificial island, and a tunnel.

Two level bridge occupies approximately half the length (almost 8 km). On the lower level, trains travel in two lanes, and on the upper level, cars travel in four lanes.

Man-made island of Peberholm 4 km long connects the bridge and tunnel. The name literally translates as “Pepper Island” - a reference to the nearby natural Saltholm (“Salt Island”). The island is created to connect the upper and lower levels of the bridge with a tunnel where all vehicles travel on the same level. Therefore, here the railway and the highway run parallel to each other. The width of the island reaches 500 meters. Made from rocks and dredged rocks, the island has become a nature reserve and a favorite destination for biologists from Denmark and Sweden. Peberholme is home to rare spiders and insects, the green toad and birds.

Through 4 km Drogden underwater tunnel travel from an artificial island to the nearest inhabited part of Denmark - the Kastrup Peninsula on the island of Amager. Two pipes carry railway tracks and two more – roads, the fifth is intended for emergency situations. The decision to build a tunnel rather than continue the bridge was made in order not to prevent planes from landing at nearby Copenhagen Airport and to leave free passage for ships.

Length of Öresund Bridge

The length of the bridge is 7845 m

The length of Peberholm Island is approximately 4 km

Tunnel length: — 4050 meters

The total length is approximately 16 km.

How to get to Oresund Bridge

The Øresund Bridge runs along the European road route E20. In Denmark it goes from Esbjerg to the Øresund Bridge-Tunnel in Copenhagen. In Sweden, the E20 runs east of Gothenburg to Malmö and Stockholm.

From the Danish side

Copenhagen Airport is 2 km from the bridge. There are public transport stops near the airport:

• stop Københavns Lufthavn (“Copenhagen Airport”) for trains and buses of intercity carriers (Bus4you, Nettbus, Togbus).
• stop Københavns Lufthavn (Ellehammersvej) buses no. 35, 36
• Lufthavnen metro station (M2).

Map of the walking route from the stop Københavns Lufthavn (Ellehammersvej) to the Øresund Bridge

From Sweden

• Lernacken St railway station is located near the bridge toll booth.
• 50 meters from the payment point there is a bus stop Bunkeflostrand Betalstationen (bus no. 4)

You can see the bridge while traveling by taxi. Uber taxi service operates in Copenhagen and Malmö.

Video of Oresund Bridge

Denmark and Sweden are separated by a narrow strip of water - the Öresund Strait. However, it only looks narrow on the map; in reality, its width is 16 km. The Swedes and Danes traditionally used ferries to cross, but this took a lot of time. Therefore, it was decided to build a bridge. Moreover, the project turned out to be unique - real proof that sometimes architects come up with brilliant ideas.

The Oresund Bridge is truly huge. It consists of two levels: on one there is a railway line, and on the other there is a 4-lane highway along which jeeps, sedans and.

The first part of the bridge ends on an artificial island located in the center of the strait. The road smoothly goes into a tunnel and disappears underground.

It is worth noting that the unusual project was not chosen simply to create something exclusive.

This bridge design will not interfere with planes landing at Copenhagen Airport and will not block the path of ships sailing through the strait.

Seeing the Oresund Bridge from a bird's eye view is a real miracle!

As you know, nature is the best artist and magician. She creates such landscapes and amazing places that are often difficult to even imagine. But lately, people have not been left behind. In between attempts to further offend our planet and pollute it as much as possible, humanity still creates interesting things worthy of attention and inclusion in the list of world attractions.
A striking example of such creative activity is the unique Oresund Bridge. It connects Sweden and Denmark via the Oresund Strait.

There are a huge number of bridges on our planet that attract attention. The Hero's Glass Bridge in China, the Bastei Bridge in Switzerland or the unusual Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany. This is just a small part of the amazing bridges. So what is so special about the Oresund Bridge? Yes, because approximately in the middle it visually breaks off and goes... underground, or rather, under water.

The bridge connects the city of Malmo in Sweden and the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen.

Oresund Bridge on the map

• Geographic coordinates of its middle are 55.591954, 12.769471
• The distance from the capital of Denmark is 0 km, since the bridge-tunnel starts directly from Copenhagen
• The distance from the capital of Sweden Stockholm is about 530 km in a straight line
• The nearest airport is Kastrup (in Copenhagen) literally within walking distance from the beginning of the bridge-tunnel

Ferry service between Sweden and Denmark has been established for a long time. But it was also necessary to build a land road. The idea of ​​connecting the Scandinavian Peninsula with mainland Europe by highway and railway appeared a long time ago. Back in 1936, the need to build a bridge was expressed. But such a large-scale project began to be implemented only in 1995.

A lot of geological, technical, financial and other studies were carried out. During them, it became clear that the large island of Saltholm (translated as Salt Island), lying almost in the middle of the strait, was not suitable for the base of the bridge. It was decided to lay the above-water part of the bridge from the Swedish city of Malmo to a distance of slightly less than 8 kilometers.

Next, the road should pass approximately 3.7 kilometers along an artificial island, poured one and a half kilometers south of the island of Saltholm, and dive underground into a 4-kilometer long tunnel. This tunnel ends all the way in the eastern part of Copenhagen near Kastrup Airport.

The presence of an airport in this place was a decisive factor in the construction of a tunnel under water, rather than a traditional bridge. The fact is that for ships to pass under the bridge, in any case, large spans and high pylons will be required. And this can create obstacles for planes approaching to land.
The project was approved. The official start of construction is October 18, 1995.

According to the project, the bridge has 2 railway lines on the lower level, and 4 lanes for cars on the upper level.

The height of the surface part gradually increases towards its middle, and smoothly decreases towards the artificial island. In the middle part there are pylons 204 meters high, and between them there is a span of 490 meters long. This ensures unhindered passage of ships, although it should be noted that captains prefer to sail their ships not here, but over the underwater part of the Oresund Bridge.

Next, an artificial island about 4 kilometers long and no more than 460 meters wide was poured. The Danes named the island Peberholm (which means Pepper Island). It really resembles a pepper in shape. But there is another interesting feature in the name. Usually in cafes and restaurants there is salt and pepper on the tables nearby. So in the strait there is “Salt” (Saltholm Island), but there is no “Pepper”. The Danes corrected this misunderstanding by calling the artificial island “Pepper” (respectively Peberholm). This island stretches in the strait from east to west. Its western part is the beginning of an underwater tunnel. It is there that trains and cars “disappear”, only to “surface” after 4 kilometers on the Danish side.

The underwater tunnel, called Drogden, is no less colossal a structure than the above-water part of the bridge. It is created from 20 individual reinforced concrete sections, each weighing 55,000 tons. They were collected together at the bottom of a specially dug channel in the strait. The tunnel consists of 5 channels. Two for rail transport, two for road transport and one spare, emergency passage in case of emergency.

The artificial island of Peperholm also has a helipad in case of an emergency.

Construction came to an end in mid-August 1999. Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Victoria of Sweden held a meeting in the middle of the bridge on August 14, thereby marking the completion of construction. But the bridge was not yet accessible to the general public. The bridge was officially opened by the monarchs of Denmark (Queen Margaret II) and Sweden (King Carl Gustav 16th) on July 1, 2000. And from that same day, traffic was allowed.

Oresund Bridge in numbers

• The total length of the road connecting the two countries is 15.9 kilometers
• The length of the above-water part of the bridge is 7,845 meters
• The upper part of the bridge weighs 82,000 tons
• The length of the tunnel under water is 4 kilometers
• The remaining kilometers of the route pass along the artificial island of Peberholm
• The average height of the bridge above the sea is 57 meters
• The maximum height of the two pylons built to create the arch for the passage of sea vessels reaches 204 meters (this refers to the total height of the structure, not the height of the roadway)
• Bridge width – 23.5 meters

50 kilometers north of the bridge there is a narrower part of the strait. Here, on opposite banks, there are cities with similar names, Helsingør (on the Danish side) and Helsingborg (on the Swedish side). Cities (and at the same time countries) are connected in this place by ferry crossing. The width of the strait here is only 4.7 kilometers, but the designers of the Oresund Bridge did not build it here, but chose a wider, but less dangerous part of the strait. This decision can also be supported by the difference in depth, 41 meters in the northern part of the strait versus 10 meters in the southern part.

The construction cost of the Øresund Bridge is estimated at approximately 4 billion euros. There is a fee to cross the bridge and it is not exactly cheap. Travel by car costs about 50 euros, and for long vehicles it costs up to 200 euros. But even at these prices, the project will pay for itself at best by 2030. In addition, a flexible system of discounts is provided for customers crossing the border via this bridge. If you travel this route often, you can save up to 75% of the fare.

There were also plans to add a bike path at a cost of 210 million euros, but this idea was later abandoned. As a result, there are no bicycle or pedestrian paths on the bridge.
Local residents have long been accustomed to the bridge, but for tourists it will be very interesting. It's not every day you see a bridge to nowhere.

Oresund Bridge photo

Oresund Bridge, satellite image.

Peberholme Island

The bridge connects to a tunnel on an artificial island called Peberholm (Pepper Island). With characteristic humor, the Danes chose the name to complement the nearby natural island of Saltholm (Salt Island) to the north. They also made Peberholme a nature reserve. Constructed from rocks and rocks during dredging for the construction of a bridge and tunnel, Peberholme Island is approximately 4 km long with an average width of 500 meters.

Drogden tunnel

The connection between the artificial island of Peberholm and the artificial peninsula Kastrup on the island of Amager - the closest inhabited part of Denmark - is made through the Drogden tunnel (Drogdentunnelen). The tunnel length is 4050 meters and consists of 3510 meters of underwater tunnel and 270 meters of portals at each end. The tunnel is made from 20 precast concrete segments (55,000 tons each) and connected in a channel dug into the seabed. 2 pipes in the tunnel carry railway tracks; 2 more carry highways, and the smaller fifth pipe is intended for emergencies. The pipes are located side by side. The reason for incurring the additional costs and difficulties of building a tunnel rather than another part of the bridge was to avoid obstructing aircraft at nearby Copenhagen Airport and to ensure clear passage for ships.

Railway transport

Public rail transport is operated jointly by Sweden's SJ and Denmark's DSBFirst on a commission from Skånetrafiken and other transport companies (who also sell tickets) and the Danish Transport Agency. A number of new trains with double voltage standards have been developed. These trains link Copenhagen and Malmö and southern Sweden, as well as Gothenburg and Kalmar. SJ operates X2000 and InterCity bridge trains with connections to Gothenburg and Stockholm. DSB operates trains to Ystad, which connects directly with a ferry to the island of Bornholm. Copenhagen Airport on Kastrup Island has its own train station near the western end of the bridge. Trains depart every 20 minutes, and once an hour at night in both directions. Additional pairs of trains operate during peak hours, and 1-2 additional SJ and DSB trains every hour thereafter. This railway also carries freight trains.

The railway has become popular and is currently experiencing congestion. The congestion occurs primarily on land and not really on the bridge. The main sources of congestion are the railway stations on both sides of the bridge, especially Malmö Central Station. People are forced to stand in traffic jams during rush hour, it is so difficult to run more trains. The Malmö city tunnel and its stations will help reduce congestion on the Swedish side.

The railway has 2 tracks of standard European gauge (1435 mm) and is suitable for high speeds (up to 200 km/h), but speeds are lower in Denmark, especially in the tunnel. There were problems related to differences in electrification and signaling between the Danish and Swedish railway networks. The solution chosen was to switch the power supply system from Swedish 15 kV 16.7 Hz to Danish 25 kV 50 Hz AC just before the eastern end of the bridge in Lernaken (Sweden). The signal in the line is in accordance with the standard Swedish system along the entire length of the bridge. On the island of Peberholm, the line switches to Danish standard, which continues in a tunnel. Sweden uses left-hand traffic railways, while Denmark uses right-hand traffic. The switch is made at Malmö Central Station, which is the final station (terminal). For the new city tunnel in Malmö, an overpass will carry one path to the other side.

Construction cost

The cost of the entire construction, including highways and rail connections on the ground, was estimated at DKK 30.1 billion (according to the 2000 price index), with the cost of the bridge expected to pay for itself by 2035. In 2006, Sweden began spending another SEK 9.45 billion on the Malmö City Tunnel as a new rail connection to the bridge. The tunnel was completed in 2011.

The connection will be entirely funded by users. The owning company is half owned by the Danish government and the other half by the Swedish government. The owning company took out a loan guaranteed by governments to finance the construction. User fees are the company's only income currently. Once traffic increases, these fees are enough to pay interest and begin repaying the loans, which is expected to take about 30 years.

Taxpayers did not pay for the bridge and tunnel. However, tax money was used to build overland connections. Especially on the Danish side, land connections have internal benefits, mainly for connecting the airport to the railway network. The Malmö City Tunnel has the advantage of connecting the southern part of the inner city to the railway network, and will allow many more trains to be sent both to and from Malmö. The existing station is a bottleneck limiting the number of trains, so people have to stand idle, especially on the Öresund Bridge, while passenger traffic continues to increase.

This unusual bridge-tunnel connects cities such as Malmo and Copenhagen. Moreover, you can travel through it either by rail or by car.

Construction of the Öresund Bridge-Tunnel began in 1995 and was completed on August 14, 1999. Despite the fact that construction was hampered by a couple of important incidents - the discovery of 18 unexploded shells from World War II on the seabed and the misalignment of one of the tunnel segments - the bridge was completed 3 months earlier than planned.


The completion of construction was marked by a symbolic meeting between the Danish Prince Frederik and the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria in the middle of the bridge. The official opening took place on July 1, 2000, with the participation of the monarchs themselves - Queen Margrethe II, and King Carl XVI Gustaf

The emergence of the project itself for such an unusual structure was facilitated by the fact that Denmark and Sweden are part of the Schengen zone and between them passport control has been abolished and customs control has been simplified

Initially, travel on the bridge was very expensive - in an attempt to recoup its unprecedented cost, the government charged too high a price - so few people used it, but subsequently, in 2005-2006, traffic volume increased significantly. Analysts attribute this to the fact that many Danes bought inexpensive houses in Swedish Malmö by the standards of Danish salaries and traveled to work in Denmark via the Oresund Bridge. In this regard, discounts of up to 75% of the fare were introduced for people who regularly cross it.

In 2008, car travel on the bridge cost 36.3 euros (260 Danish or 325 Swedish kronor). In 2007, almost 25 million people crossed the bridge, of which more than 15 million - by their own vehicles and almost 10 million - by train.

The Øresund Bridge includes a double-track railway and a four-lane motorway. Its total length is 7845 meters, every 140 of which the supporting beam of the bridge rests on concrete supports. The main span has a height of 57 meters, which allows most ships to pass safely under it, although many prefer a quiet passage over the tunnel itself, with which the bridge connects on an artificial island, nicknamed Peberholm (Pepper Island) for its shape.
By inertia, the Danes, with their inherent sense of humor, decided to give a new name to the natural island located just to the north, which is now called Saltholm (Island of Salt). Peberholm Island is 4 kilometers long and has an average width of 500 meters. The building material for it was rock fragments and tons of rock raised from the bottom during dredging work during the construction of the bridge.


The island of Peberholm is connected to the Danish artificial peninsula Kastrup on the island of Amager by the 4-kilometer Drogden tunnel. More precisely, its length is 4050 meters, which includes 270 meters of portals at both exits and 3510 meters of flat underwater part.

When constructing the tunnel, 20 reinforced concrete segments of 55 thousand tons each were lowered into a specially dug channel at the bottom of the strait, which were then combined into one whole. There are a total of 5 pipes running through the Drogden tunnel - two each for railway and road traffic, and a fifth, smaller pipe for emergencies.


Why was such a strange half-bridge-half-tunnel built across the strait? Why did the governments of the two countries go to the additional expense and difficulty associated with the construction of the tunnel? The reason lies in the close location of Copenhagen Airport (a conventional bridge would prevent planes from taking off and landing), plus this design made it possible not to restrict shipping traffic through Öresund.
In total, more than 30 billion Danish kroner were spent on the construction of the Øresund Bridge-Tunnel (based on the Danish krone exchange rate in 2000) - an amount that will only be recouped by 2035. In addition, in order to expand the railway interchange leading from the bridge, in 2006 the Swedish side spent a further 9.45 billion Swedish kronor on the Malmö city tunnel, the construction of which was completed in 2011.




Entering the tunnel




Tunnel


The reason for the dive is Copenhagen Airport, located on the other side of the Oresund Strait. Due to landing planes, the bridge was removed under water into a four-kilometer tunnel.


Leaving the tunnel