Sund & Bælt is now cancelling the tender for the railway in the Fehmarn Belt tunnel, a contract with an expected bid price of around 1.5 billion DKK. The decision comes after at least two years of delay in the tunnel construction and means that the work to prepare the connection for train operation will be postponed.
The tender, called the TTC contract, includes a 25-kilometre long double-track railway for 200 km/h with an overhead line system. About 18 kilometres are located within the tunnel itself between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden, while the rest is on the Danish and German sides.
The contract was launched as the last major contract in the project and as the technical basis for electric passenger and freight trains to run directly between Scandinavia and the European railway network.
The French-Austrian railway consortium TSO-Swietelsky had been named the preferred bidder, meaning the company that had submitted the best offer.
Delays in Denmark and uncertainty in Germany
The cancellation occurs because the tunnel construction itself is delayed. The Fehmarn Belt tunnel is currently at least two years behind the original schedule. But even if the tunnel were ready, train operation is not solely a Danish issue.
On the German side, the full railway connection depends on a new Fehmarn Sound tunnel between Fehmarn and the German mainland. It is to replace the current Fehmarn Sound bridge for railway traffic. The project has been characterised by regulatory processes and lack of building permits and can be completed at the earliest in 2032.
This means that even if the Fehmarn Belt tunnel itself could technically open, train traffic may be limited by conditions south of the border.
Road may come before rail
When the railway contract was put out to tender, it was highlighted as a key contribution to the green transition with a seven-minute travel time through the tunnel and a saving of about 160 kilometres compared to the route via the Great Belt.
With the cancellation, the planned timeline is broken. Sund & Bælt states that a new overall schedule will only be drawn up once the first tunnel elements are submerged.
The decision thus increases the likelihood of a scenario where car traffic can start before rail operations. The railway section is technically separate from the road lanes and can be postponed without preventing a possible opening for cars.
