On Friday, Schleswig-Holstein’s European Minister Werner Schwarz and Region Zealand’s regional council chairman Heino Knudsen signed a new action plan for cooperation across the Fehmarn Belt. Slowly but surely, a Fehmarn Belt region is starting to take shape, where Danish and German geography blend together.
– A significant advantage of the upcoming fixed Fehmarn Belt link is that it will ease cross-border mobility in the region. However, this will only become a reality and add value if we manage to establish and expand cross-border connections together. The tunnel itself is just one piece of the puzzle in the development of a well-integrated border region, says Werner Schwarz, European Minister of Schleswig-Holstein (CDU), in a press release.
More than concrete and stone
– Region Zealand and the state of Schleswig-Holstein, by signing the action plan, aim to ensure that we not only remain curious and see possibilities but actually connect our geographies on all levels. It should be natural for citizens and businesses to move across borders, which is why we need to do more than just build a tunnel of concrete and stone,” says Heino Knudsen, regional council chairman of Region Zealand (Social Democrats).
Local trains across the Fehmarn Belt
Schleswig-Holstein and Region Zealand, among other things, will initiate work to ensure that local trains can run across the fixed Fehmarn Belt connection from 2029.
It is already planned that around ten international freight and passenger trains will pass through the Fehmarn Belt tunnel every hour. Banedanmark informs FemernReport that there is enough capacity on the route to also handle regional traffic:
– More than ten trains per hour will be able to run in each direction across Lolland, and there will also be capacity for potential regional trains from Germany (Lübeck) to, for example, Nykøbing Falster. The biggest capacity challenge is the mix of different train types with very different travel speeds on the same railway line. International passenger trains travel much faster than freight trains, Banedanmark writes in an email response.
Looking towards each other
With only around 300 kilometers and approximately 2½ hours between Copenhagen and Hamburg by 2029, the opportunities in the two metropolises become obvious. However, there is also a world between the metropolises in the near geography across the Fehmarn Belt, and here both geographies need to get used to looking towards each other and working more with their potentials. This is the focus of the action plan.
– With this plan, we aim to create cohesion and ensure close integration across the Fehmarn Belt geography. It is crucial that we connect the nearby geographies with local train links that make it possible to access jobs, education, and experiences in the opposite geography. We also need to work on a unified ticketing system, says Christian Wedell-Neergaard, chairman of the Committee for Regional Development, Education, Public Transport, and International Cooperation in Region Zealand (Conservatives).
Runs until 2026
The ambition of the action plan is to strengthen the good neighborly relations through more cross-border activities for citizens and collaboration on language and culture across the region. At the same time, opportunities for education across the border will be improved.
The action plan runs through 2025 and 2026, after which it will be reviewed by the parties.
