Copenhagen Metro

Copenhagen Metro (Danish: Københavns metro) is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The 20.5-kilometer (12.7 mi) system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and Movia buses. Through the city center and west to Frederiksberg, M1 and M2 share a common line. To the south-east, the system serves Amager, with the 13.7-kilometer (8.5 mi) M1 running though the new neighborhood of Ørestad, and the 14.2-kilometer (8.8 mi) M2 serving the eastern neighborhoods and Copenhagen Airport. The metro has 22 stations, of which 9 are underground. In 2009, the metro carried 50 million passengers.

The system is owned by Metroselskabet, which is again owned by the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, and the Ministry of Transport. The 34 trains are of the class AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro, and stationed at the Control and Maintenance Center at Vestamager. The trains are 2.65 meters (8 ft 8 in) wide and three cars long; their 630-kilowatt (840 hp) power output is supplied by a 750-volt third rail. Operation of the system is subcontracted to Metro Service. Trains run continually, twenty-four hours a day, with the headway varying from two to twenty minutes.

Planning of the metro started in 1992 as part of the redevelopment plans for Ørestad. A tramway and light rail were considered, but discarded in the process. Construction started in 1996, and stage 1, from Nørreport to Vestamager and Lergravsparken, opened in 2002. Stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, opened in 2003, followed by stage 3, from Lergravsparken to Lufthavnen, in 2007. Construction of the City Circle Line is underway, and is scheduled to open in 2018. It will form a circle around the city center, be entirely underground and not share any track with M1 and M2. A further expansion towards Brønshøj is being considered. On Jan 7, 2011 the new project called Cityringen started with the signature by Metroselskabet of new contracts, with Ansaldo Breda and Ansaldo Sts (Finmeccanica Group) for the supply of trains and control systems and with an Italian joint-venture led by Salin Construttori (about 60%) and Tecnimont (about 40%) with Seli as third partner for the construction part.

History

Background

The planning of the metro was spurred by the development of the Ørestad area of Copenhagen. The principal of building a rail transit was passed by the Parliament of Denmark on 24 June 1992, with the Ørestad Act.^[1] The responsibility for developing the area, as well as building and operating the metro, was given to the Ørestad Development Corporation, a joint venture between Copenhagen Municipality (45%) and the Ministry of Finance (55%). Initially, three modes were considered: a tramway, a light rail and a rapid transit. In October 1994, the Development Corporation chose a light rapid transit.^[2]

The tram solution would have been a street tram which operated on the regular streets, without any major infrastructure investments in the city center, such as right-of-way. Through Ørestad it would have level crossing, and only with the European Route E20 and the Øresund Line would there be a grade-separated crossing. It would have had a driver and operate at about a 150-second interval—twice the cycle time of the city's traffic lights. Power would have been provided with overhead wire. Stops would be located about every 500 meters (1,600 ft) and be at street level. The articulated trams would have been about 35 meters (115 ft) long and have a capacity for 230 passengers.^[3]

The light rail model would have used the same approach as the tram in Ørestad, but would instead have run through a tunnel in the city center. The tunnel sections would be shorter, but the diameter larger because it would have to accommodate overhead wires. The system would have the same frequency as the tram, but use double trams and would therefore require larger stations. The metro solution was chosen because it combined the highest average speeds, the highest ridership, the lowest visual and noise impact, and the lowest number of accidents. Despite it also bearing the highest investments, it had the highest net present value.^[3]

The decision to build stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, and stage 3, to the airport, was taken by Parliament on 21 December 1994.^[1] Stage 2 involved the establishment of the company Fredriksbergbaneselskapet I/S in February 1995, owned 70% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 30% by Fredriksberg Municipality. The third stage would be built by Østamagerbaneselskapet I/S, established in September 1995 and owned 55% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 45% by Copenhagen County. In October 1996, a contract was signed with the Copenhagen Metro Construction Group (COMET) for building the lines (Civil Works), and with Ansaldo STS for delivery of technological systems and trains, and to operate the system the first five years.^[2] COMET was a single-purpose consortium composed of Astaldi, Bachy, SAE, Ilbau, NCC Rasmussen & Schiøtz Anlæg and Tarmac Construction.^[4]

Construction

Construction started in November 1996, with the moving of underground pipes and wires around the station areas. In August 1997, work started at the depot, and in September, COMET started the first mainline work. In October and November, the two tunnel boring machines (TMB), christened Liva and Bette, were delivered. They started boring each barrel of the tunnel from Islands Brygge in February 1998. The same month, the Public Transport Authority gave the necessary permits to operate a driverless metro. The section between Fasanvej and Frederiksberg is a former S-train line, and was last operated as such on 20 June 1998.^[2]

The first section of tunnel was completed in September 1998, and the TMBs moved to Havnegade. By December 1998, work had started on the initial nine stations. Plans for M2 were presented to the public in April 1999, with a debate emerging if the proposed elevated solution was the best. In May, the first trains were delivered, and trial runs began at the depot. In December, the tunnels were completed to Strandlodsvej, and the TMBs were moved to Havnegade, where they started to grind towards Frederiksberg. From 1 January 2000, the S-train service from Solbjerg to Vanløse was terminated, and work commenced to rebuild the section to metro. The last section of tunnel was completed in February 2001.^[2]

In March 2001, Copenhagen County Council decided to start construction of stage 3. On 6 November 2001, the first train operated through a tunnel section. On 28 November, laying of tracks along stage 1, and stage 2A from Nørreport to Frederiksberg, was completed. An agreement about financing stage 3 was reached on 12 April. By 22 May, the 18 delivered trains had test-run 100,000 kilometers (60,000 mi).^[2] The section from Nørreport to Lergravsparken and Vesterport was opened on 19 October 2002. Initially, the system had a 12-minute headway on each of the two services. From 3 December this was reduced to 9 minutes, and from 19 December to 6 minutes.^[5] Operation of the system was subcontracted to Ansaldo, who again subcontracted it to Metro Service, a subsidiary of Serco Group. The contract had a duration of five years, with an option for extension for another three.^[6]

M1 and M2

Trial runs on stage 2A began on 24 February 2003 and opened on 29 May. All changes to bus and train schedules in Copenhagen took place on 25 May, but to allow Queen Margrethe II to open the line, the opening needed to be adapted to her calendar. This caused four days without a bus service along the line.^[7] Stage 2B, from Frederiksberg to Vanløse, opened on 12 October.^[8]

Forum Station was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2005.^[9] On 2 December 2005, the final agreement to build the City Circle Line was made between the local and national governments. The price was estimated at 11.5 to 18.3 billion Danish krone (DKK), of which DKK 5.4 billion will be financed though ticket sales, and the remaining from the state and municipalities.^[10] In 2006, it was announced that the contract with Ansaldo to operate the metro had been prolonged another three years.^[6] However, the subcontract between Ansaldo and Serco Group was not extended, and the contract was instead given to Azienda Trasporti Milanesi in joint venture with Ansaldo; they took over operations from October 2007.^[11] The Ørestad Development Corporation was discontinued in 2007, and the ownership of the metro was transferred to Metroselskabet I/S.^[12]

In January 2007, the city council decided that a branch was to be built during construction at Norreport, to allow a future branch line from the City Circle Line towards Brønshøj. The start must be built at the same time as the City Circle Line, or face a multitude-higher construction cost and long interruptions of operations later. This did not involve a final decision, only an option for future construction.^[13] In March 2007, a proposal to establish a station at Valby, where the Carlsberg Group is planning an urban redevelopment, was scrapped. The proposal would have increased construction costs by DKK 900 million and was deemed not economical. The increased cost was, in part, due to an extra TBM being needed to complete the project on time.^[14] The City Circle Line was passed by parliament on 1 June 2007, with only the Red–Green Alliance voting in disfavor.^[15]

The 4.5-kilometer (2.8 mi) stage 3 opened on 28 September 2007, from Lergravsparken to the airport. It followed, for the most part, the route of the former Amager Line of the Danish State Railways. With this stage complete, the 34 trains were delivered. However, the line caused a heated debate, with several locals organized themselves into the Amager Metro Group. The group argued that the line should have been built underground, citing concerns that it would create noise pollution and a physical barrier in Amager.^[16] In April 2008, the Copenhagen Metro won the award at MetroRail 2008 for the world's best metro. The jury noted the system's high regularity, safety and passenger satisfaction, as well as the efficient transport to the airport.^[17] During 2008, the metro experienced a 16% passenger growth to 44 million passengers per year.^[18]

An agreement made in September 2008, the Social Democrats, the Conservative People's Party, the Liberal Party and the Danish People's Party agreed to not fund an expansion of the metro northwest.^[19] Initially, the system operated trains from 01:00 to 05:00 only on Thursdays through Saturdays, but, starting on 19 March 2009, night service was extended to the rest of the week. This caused a logistical challenge, because Metro Service used the nights for maintenance. The routes were therefore set up in such a way that the system could be operated on only a single track, leaving the other free for work.^[20] In May 2009, six companies were pre-qualified to bid for the public service obligation to operate the metro. These were Serco–NedRailways, Ansaldo STS, Arriva, S-Bahn Hamburg, Keolis and DSB Metro—a joint venture between DSB and RATP.^[21] The process was delayed because of a procedural error by Metroselskabet, who failed to pre-qualify DSB Metro.^[22]

Route

The metro consists of two lines, M1 and M2. They share a common section from Vanløse to Christianshavn, where they split along two lines: M1 follows the Ørestad Line to Vestamager, while M2 follows the Østamager Line to the airport. The lines have 22 stations and are 20.5 kilometers (12.7 mi) long, of which 9 stations and 7.4 kilometers (4.6 mi) km are on the common section. M1 is 13.7 kilometers (8.5 mi) long and has 15 stations, while M2 is 14.2 kilometers (8.8 mi) long and has 16 stations. About 10 kilometers (6 mi) of the lines and 9 stations are in tunnel, located at 20 to 30 meters (70 to 100 ft) below ground level. The remaining sections are on embankments, viaducts or at ground level.^[23]

The section from Vanløse to Frederiksberg follows the Frederiksberg Line, a former S-train line which runs on an embankment. Between Solbjerg and Frederiksberg, the line runs underground, and continues through the city center. After Christianshavn, the line splits in two. M1 reaches ground level at Islands Brygge, and continues on a viaduct through the Vestamager area. M2 continues in tunnel until after Lergravsparken, where it starts to follow the former Amager Line.^[24]

The tunnels consist of two parallel barrels; they run through stable limestone at about 30 meters (98 ft) depth, but are elevated slightly at stations. There are emergency exits every 600 meters (2,000 ft), so the train is at any time not further than 300 meters (1,000 ft) away from one. The outer tunnel diameter is 5.5 meters (18 ft), while the inner diameter is 4.9 meters (16 ft). The tunnels were excavated by the cut-and-cover method, the New Austrian Tunnelling method and by tunnel boring machines (TBM). Along the elevated sections, the tracks run on alternating sections of separate reinforced concrete viaducts and joint embankments made of reinforced earth.^[25]

Service

The system operates continually with a varying headway throughout the day. During rush hour (07:00–10:00 and 15:00–18:00), there is a two-minute headway on the common section and a four-minute headway on the single-service sections. During Thursday through Saturday night (24:00–05:00), the headway is fifteen minutes, and other nights it is twenty minutes on all sections of the metro. At all other times, there is a three-minute headway on the common section and a six-minute on the split sections.^[26] Travel time from Nørreport to Vestamager on M1 is 14 minutes, to the airport on M2 is 15 minutes, and to Vanløse on M1 and M2 is 9 minutes.^[27] In 2009, the metro transported 50 million passengers, or 137,000 per day.^[28]

The metro operates with a proof-of-payment system, so riders must have a valid ticket before entering the station platforms. The system is divided into zones, and the fare structure is integrated with other public transport in Copenhagen, including the buses managed by Movia, local DSB trains and the S-train.^[29] The system lies within four different zones.^[30] Ticket machines are available at all stations, where special tickets for dogs and bicycles can also be purchased.^[29] A two-zone ticket costs DKK 23, a three-zone ticket DKK 34.50 and a four-zone ticket DKK 46. Discounts are available for multi-ride tickets and children. Tickets must be stamped to be validated. Monthly passes cost DKK 320,- for two zones and DKK 585,- for four zones.^[29] Holders of the Copenhagen Card museum pass ride free of charge, as do up to two children under twelve years of age accompanied by an adult.^[29] Between 2010 and 2012, the metro will adapt the national electronic fare card system Rejsekort.^[31]

The system is integrated with other public transport in Copenhagen. There is transfer to the S-train at Vanløse, Flintholm and Nørreport, to DSB's local trains at Nørreport, Ørestad and Lufthavnen, and to Copenhagen Airport at Lufthavnen. There are transfers to Movia bus services at all but four stations.^[27]

The system is owned by Metroselskabet, who is also responsible for building the City Circle Line. The company is owned by Copenhagen Municipality (50.0%), the Ministry of Transport (41.7%) and Frederiksberg Municipality (8.3%).^[32] The company is organized with as few employees as possible. Construction and operation is subcontracted through public tenders, while consultants are used for planning.^[33] The contract to operate the system was made with Ansaldo STS, who has subcontracted it to Metro Service, a joint venture between them and Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM), the public transport company of the city of Milan, Italy. The company has about 200 employees, the majority who work as stewards.^[34]

Stations

There are twenty-two stations on the network,^[27] of which nine are underground and six are deep-level. They were all designed by KHR Arkitekter, who created open stations with daylight.^[35] Stations have an information column in front, marked with a large 'M' and featuring information screens. All stations have a vestibule at ground level, which has ticket and local information, ticket machines and validators. The stations are built with island platforms^[36] and are fully accessible for people with disabilities.^[37]

The six deep-level stations are built as square, open boxes 60 meters (200 ft) long, 20 meters (66 ft) wide and 20 meters (66 ft) deep. The platforms are located 18 meters (59 ft) below the surface. Access to the surface is reached via escalators and elevators. The design allows the stations to be located below streets and squares, allowing the stations to be built without expropriation. Access to the track is blocked by platform screen doors. The underground stations were built as cut-and-cover from the top down (except Christianshavn, which was excavated as a large hole and the station built bottom-up), and the first part of construction was building a water-tight wall on all sides. There are glass pyramids on the roof of the stations permitting daylight to enter. Inside the pyramids, there are prisms reflecting and splitting the light, sometimes resulting in rainbows on the walls. The light in the stations is automatically regulated to make best use of the daylight and maintain a constant level of illumination of the stations at all times.^[36]

The elevated stations are built in glass, concrete and steel to minimize their visual impact. Outside, there is parking for bicycles, cars, buses and taxis. The platforms are open, but have sheds, and automatic sensors that halt trains if obstacles are detected on the tracks.^[36]

Trains

The system uses 34 driverless electric multiple units built by AnsaldoBreda and designed by Giugiaro Design of Italy.

The trains are 39 meters (128 ft) long, 2.65 meters (8 ft 8 in) wide, and weigh 52 tonnes (51 long tons; 57 short tons). Each train consists of three articulated cars with a total of six automated, 1.6-meter (5 ft 3 in) wide doors, holding up to 96 seated and 204 standing passengers. There are four large 'flex areas' in each train with folding seats providing space for wheelchairs, strollers and bicycles.^[38]

Each car is equipped with two three-phase asynchronous 105 kilowatts (141 hp) motors, giving each train a power output of 630 kilowatts (840 hp). In each car, the two motors are fed by the car's own insulated-gate bipolar transistor. They transform the 750-volt direct current collected from the third rail shoe to the three-phase alternating current used in the motors. The trains' top speed are 80 km/h (50 mph), while the average service speed is 40 km/h (25 mph), with an acceleration and deceleration capacity of 1.3 m/s² (4.3 ft/s²) along the standard-gauge track.^[38]

The entire metro system and the trains are run by a fully automated computer system, located at the Control and Maintenance Center south of Vestamanger Station. The automatic train control (ATC) consists of three subsystems: automatic train protection (ATP), automatic train operation (ATO) and automatic train supervisory (ATS). The ATP is responsible for keeping the trains' speed, ensuring that doors are closed before departure and switches are correctly set. The system uses fixed block signaling, except around stations, where moving block signaling is used.^[39]

The ATO is the autopilot that runs the trains on a predefined schedule, ensures that the trains stop at the station and open the doors. The ATS keeps track of all the components in the network, including the rails and all of the trains in the system, and displays a live schematic at the control centre. The ATC is designed so that the ATP is the only safety-critical system, as it would halt the trains if the other systems fail. The safety and signaling specifications are based on the German BOStrab, and controlled by TÜV Rheinland and Det Norske Veritas under supervision of the Public Transport Authority. Other aspects of the system, such as power supply, ventilation, security alarms, cameras and pumps, are controlled by a system called "control, regulating and surveillance".^[39]

The Control and Maintenance Center is an 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres) facility located at the south end of M1. It consists of a storage area for trains not in use, a maintenance area and the control facility. Trains operate automatically through the system, and can also automatically be washed on the exterior. The facility has 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) of track, of which 800 meters (2,600 ft) is a test track for use after maintenance. The most common repairs are the grinding of the wheels; more complicated repairs are made by replacing entire components that are sent to the manufacturer. By having components in reserve, trains can have shorter maintenance time. The center also has several maintenance trains, including a diesel locomotive that is able retrieve broken down or disabled trains.^[40]

At any time, there are four people working at the control centre: two monitor the ATC system, one monitors passenger information, and one is responsible for secondary systems, such as power supply. In case of technical problems, there is always a team of linemen that can be dispatched to perform repairs. Although the trains are not equipped with drivers, there are stewards at stations and on some trains that help passengers, perform ticket controls and assist in emergency situations.^[40]

Future

An expansion of the metro, the City Circle Line, is under-construction and scheduled to open in 2018.^[41] Independent of the existing system, it will circle the city center and connect the areas of Østerbro, Nørrebro and Vesterbro to Frederiksberg and Indre By. The line will be 15.5 kilometers (9.6 mi) long and run entirely in tunnel. The circle will have 17 stations, and it will take 25 minutes to complete a full circle. Archaeological and geological surveys started in 2007, preferred bidders were announced in November 2010^[41] and construction of the tunnels is planned to commence in 2010.^[42]

The line will operate as M3 and M4. The former will run a full circle, while M4 will only operate on the eastern half from Copenhagen Central Station (København H) via Østerport to Nørrebro. Trains will operate both ways through the circle. The line will have transfer to M1 and M2 at Frederiksberg and Kongens Nytorv.^[42] The line is estimated to carry 240,000 daily passengers, bringing the metro's total daily ridership to 460,000.^[15][43]

A further expansion of the City Circle Line has been proposed, where M4 would divert at Nørrebro and run to the suburbs of Brønshøj and Gladsaxe. There are two proposals, one with four stations that runs to Husum, and one with nine stations that will run to Gladsaxe. The authorities are also considering light rail and bus rapid transit. The longer proposal would be 10.2 kilometers (6.3 mi) long, give a 400% increase in public transport ridership in the area, and cost DKK 9.3 billion to build.^[44]

In September 2011, the local governments in Copenhagen and neighbouring Malmö in Sweden announced that they were seeking European Union funding to study a potential metro line under the Øresund to the neighbourhood of Malmö Central Station, providing faster trips and additional capacity beyond that of the existing Øresund Bridge.^[45] The study, for which the EU granted funding in the following December,^[46] will consider both a simple shuttle between the two stations and a continuous line integrated with the local transport networks on each side, and they anticipate a travel time of 15 minutes between the two city centres.^[47]

References

Bibliography

• Jensen, Tommy O. (2002). "Bag om metroen [Behind the metro]" (in Danish). Jernbanen (5): 32–41. http://www.jernbaneklub.dk/jernbanen/2002/blad5-2002bag-om-metroen-ny4.pdf. 

External links

• Official website