Frederikssundbanen

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Frederikssundbanen is one of six radial S-Train lines in Copenhagen; it connects the city center with a number of Northwestern suburbs (notably Herlev and Ballerup) and other townships until Frederikssund on the Western coast of the Nordsjælland peninsula.

[edit] Stations

Name Services Opened S-trains Comments
Østerport C, H, H+ August 2, 1897 May 15, 1934 Also all other radials; named Østerbro until 1934
Nørreport C, H, H+ July 1, 1918 May 15, 1934 Also all other radials; transfer to metro
Vesterport C, H, H+ May 15, 1934 Also all other radials
København H C, H, H+ November 30, 1911 May 15, 1934 Central station; also all other radials
Dybbølsbro C, H+ November 1, 1934 Also Køge and Tåstrup radials
Enghave C, H+ November 30, 1911 November 1, 1934 Also Tåstrup radial; named Vester Fælledvej until 1923
Valby C, H, H+ November 30, 1911 November 1, 1934 Also Tåstrup radial; transfer to regional trains
Langgade C, H+ September 23, 1941 Named Valby Langgade until 1946
Peter Bangs Vej C, H+ September 23, 1941
Flintholm C, H, H+ January 24, 2004 Transfer to ring line; metro
Vanløse C, H, H+ June 15, 1898 September 23, 1941 Transfer to metro; S-trains on ring line 19342002
Jyllingevej C, H+ May 15, 1949
Islev C, H+ 1931 May 15, 1949
Husum C, H, H+ 1880 May 15, 1949 Cross-link express bus 200S
Herlev C, H, H+ June 17, 1879 May 15, 1949 Bus terminal; cross-link express bus 300S
Skovlunde C, H+ 1882 May 15, 1949
Malmparken C, H+ May 25, 1989
Ballerup C, H, H+ June 17, 1879 May 15, 1949 C service terminates; major bus terminal; cross-link express buses 400S, 500S
Måløv H, H+ June 17, 1879 September 29, 1989
Kildedal H, H+ November 27, 2000
Veksø H, H+ June 17, 1879 September 29, 1989
Stenløse H, H+ February 18, 1882 September 29, 1989
Gammel Toftegård H, H+ September 15, 2002
Ølstykke H, H+ June 17, 1879 September 29, 1989 Cross-link express bus 600S
Oppe-Sundby 1879? Closed September 29, 1989
Frederikssund H, H+ September 29, 1989 Major bus terminal

[edit] Service patterns

The basic service pattern consists of the C service which runs until Ballerup and stops at all stations, and H, which runs partially non-stop until Ballerup and then stops at all stations until Frederikssund. On weekdays until around 19:00 these are supplemented by the H+ service which stops at all stations from København H to Frederikssund.

[edit] History

The Frederikssund line opened in 1879 as a single-track railway to Frederikssund from Frederiksberg, which at that time was a station on the main line between Copenhagen and Roskilde. In 1911 the main line was moved to connect to the new (current) central station, and the Frederikssund line inside Vanløse was replaced with a connecting line to Valby. The old line between Frederiksberg and Vanløse had a quiet existence until March 4, 1934 when it became part of the first S-train line. Much later this piece of railway metamorphosed again and became part of the Copenhagen metro.

Later in 1934 S-train service was extended westwards from København H until Valby, and in 1941 the section Valby-Vanløse was upgraded to double track and S-train service too. Passengers to stations farther out would ride the S-train to Vanløse and change to steam trains (later diesel) there. In 1949 S-train service was extended to Ballerup, and at the same time the line was double-tracked as far as Herlev. A second track between Herlev and Ballerup was built 1966-1970.

The diesel trains at the outer end of the line were finally replaced by S-trains in 1989. At this time, the line's terminus in Frederikssund was restored to its original central location. It had been moved nearer to the harbour in 1928 in order to connect to the short-lived central Zealand railway and kept its new, somewhat remote, location for more than 50 years after the central Zealand railway closed again in 1936.

After the 1989 electrification, the line outside Ballerup was kept as a single-track line. Uniquely for an S-train line, several level crossings with roads were kept after the electrification of the Ballerup-Frederikssund part. With fixed train crossings in Veksø and Ølstykke the single track could sustain three trains an hour in each direction, which quickly proved inadequate to keep up with the traffic demands. It took several years before funding for an upgrade could be secured, but a second track between Ballerup and Frederikssund was eventually built until Veksø in 2000 and all the way to Frederikssund in 2002. As soon as the new track was ready, the service frequency was doubled to six trains an hour. The double track also allowed new stations to be opened at Kildedal and Gammel Toftegård.