Construction - King Frederik visits the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel construction site
King Frederik X of Denmark has inaugurated the first tunnel element for the Fehmarnbelt crossing. The element for the tunnel under the Baltic Sea was completed at the beginning of May - 88 more are to follow, as announced by the responsible company Femern A/S.
During the inauguration, King Frederik also unveiled a memorial plaque that will be installed in the completed tunnel. In addition, a time capsule will be buried near the tunnel entrance, where guests and visitors of the tunnel exhibition could leave a small memento or a message for the future. According to a Femern A/S spokesperson, King Frederik placed a small silver coin in the capsule, which he received for his 18th birthday.
The tunnel will be built equally from the German and Danish sides and connected in the middle of the Fehmarnbelt, Femern A/S announced. The now inaugurated first tunnel element will be lowered down on the Danish side and connected with the Danish portal. This will result in a four-lane highway and a two-track railway. Cars and trains are expected to travel between the German island of Fehmarn and the 18-kilometer distant Danish island of Lolland back and forth under the Baltic Sea starting from 2029.
While construction work is already underway on the Danish site, progress on the German side is not as far along. For the construction of the Fehmarnsund Tunnel, which is intended to connect the island of Fehmarn with the German mainland, one is still in the planning phase, said a spokesperson for Deutsche Bahn. The actual construction of the nearly two-kilometer long tunnel is expected to begin in 2026. Through the construction of the two tunnels, the railway route between Hamburg, Lübeck and Copenhagen is expected to be shortened by approximately 160 kilometers, according to Deutsche Bahn.
- The first tunnel element for the Fehmarnbelt crossing, inaugurated by King Frederik X of Denmark, will be lowered down on the Danish side and connected with the Danish portal, leading to a four-lane highway and a two-track railway.
- The Fehmarnbelt link, a tunnel under the Baltic Sea, will consist of 88 more tunnel elements that are yet to be constructed, according to Femern A/S.
- Cars and trains are expected to travel between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland back and forth under the Baltic Sea starting from 2029.
- While construction work is already underway on the Danish site, the construction of the Fehmarnsund Tunnel on the German side is still in the planning phase, as reported by Deutsche Bahn.
- The construction of the Fehmarnsund Tunnel, once completed, will connect the island of Fehmarn with the German mainland, potentially shortening the railway route between Hamburg, Lübeck and Copenhagen by approximately 160 kilometers, according to Deutsche Bahn.
