Oresund Line
| Oresund Line | |
|---|---|
 The Oresund Bridge | |
| Overview | |
| Type | High-speed railway |
| System |
Danish railways Swedish railways |
| Termini |
Fosieby Copenhagen Central Station |
| Stations | 4 |
| Operation | |
| Opening | 2000 |
| Owner |
Swedish Transport Administration Banedanmark |
| Operator(s) |
DSB DSBFirst SJ Skåne commuter rail Railion |
| Character | Passenger and freight |
| Rolling stock |
X2 X31 EG |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 38 km |
| Track length | 76 km |
| No. of tracks | Double |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Electrification |
15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC 25 kV 50 Hz AC |
Oresund Line (Swedish: Öresundbanan, Danish: Øresundbanen) is a railway between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden via the Oresund Bridge. On the Swedish side it is managed by the Swedish Transport Administration, on the Danish side by Banedanmark.
The railway line continues from the Continental Line south of Malmö and heads west passing over the Oresund Bridge on the lower section, Peberholm artificial island and under Copenhagen Airport to Copenhagen Central Station. In Malmö, the City Tunnel connects the railway directly to Malmö C.
Since 11 January 2009, Oresundtrains have been operated by DSBFirst between Copenhagen and Malmö, with connections to Gothenburg, Kalmar and Karlskrona. On the Danish side, many trains continue northwards on the Coast Line to Helsingør. DSB operates Oresundtrains to Ystad with ferry connection to Bornholm. SJ operates X 2000 high-speed trains between Stockholm, Malmö and Copenhagen, and Oresundtrains between Gothenburg and Copenhagen. Freight trains are operated by Railion using EG locomotives.
History
Plans for connecting Scania and Zealand with a bridge had been raised throughout the entire 20th century, and in 1991 a company was created to start the work. Construction of the Oresund Bridge and Oresund Railway started in 1995 and was completed in 2000.
City Tunnel
Since December 2010, Oresundtrains have gone through the new City Tunnel in Malmö, with new stations at Hyllie and Triangeln. It saves one minute for passengers to Malmö C, and about 15 to 20 minutes for passengers to Triangeln.
Border technicalities
One of the challenges with the line was incompatibility between railway electrification in Denmark and Sweden. Denmark uses 25 kV 50 Hz AC while Sweden uses 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC. The signalling system is also different between the two countries. The problem was solved by switching the signalling system on Peberholm, while the entire bridge uses the Danish electrical system. All the trains that operate on the line must therefore be dual voltage with dual signalling systems, including a minority of the X2 trains operated throughout Sweden by SJ.
On double track in Denmark trains run on the right and in Sweden on the left. On the Oresund Line trains runs on right, changing sides at a flyover north of the Malmö C, resulting in trains in the Malmö area using the Danish standard.
Line
Sweden
- Fosieby (0 / 38 km) – line leaves Continental Line
- Malmö South Station (4 / 34 km)
- Lernacken (10 / 28 km) – Enter the Oresund Bridge, change of electric current.
Denmark
- Peberholm (21 / 17 km) – Change of signalling system
- Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup Station (29 /9 km)
- Tårnby Station (31 / 7 km)
- Ørestad Station (32 / 6 km) – Metro crosses the Oresund Railway
- Copenhagen Central Station (38 / 0 km) - terminus
X2000 trains stop only at Malmö C, Copenhagen Airport/Kastrup and Copenhagen H. Oresundtrains stop at all stations.