In September, the Danish Parliament’s transport committee visited Germany to see firsthand the progress of the Fehmarn tunnel’s integration with the rest of the German railway network. Here, the project’s contractor, Deutsche Bahn, gave a presentation to the Danish politicians. FemernReport reviewed Deutsche Bahn’s presentation from the event. It provides insight into the project’s vast scope—and fuels doubts about whether it will be completed by 2029.
New Tunnel: Dry dock becomes tunnel portal
One of the most significant and complex tasks is the new Fehmarn Sound Tunnel, which will replace the existing bridge from 1963. The bridge is too small and fragile to handle the anticipated heavy freight traffic through the Fehmarn connection. As a result, Deutsche Bahn will construct a new tunnel under the sound.
According to the presentation, the new Fehmarn Sound Tunnel will be an immersed tunnel made up of 12 elements. These elements will be cast on-site in a dry dock. Once the last tunnel element has been cast, the dry dock will be transformed into a tunnel portal. This solution, according to Deutsche Bahn, was chosen because the shallow waters in the area make it impossible to bring in tunnel elements from outside, as is done at the casting facility in Rødbyhavn.
Bad vibrations in Bad Schwartau
Bad Schwartau, five kilometers north of Lübeck, is the largest town in Ostholstein, with 20,000 residents. The town has also posed a significant challenge for the entire railway connection to the Fehmarn project. After years of local protests, DB has conceded.
According to the presentation to Danish transport politicians, the section of the railway running through the town area will be lowered by 3.2 meters. This is both complicated and costly in itself, but Deutsche Bahn is going further. Additional noise and vibration protection measures, exceeding legal requirements, will be implemented. DB considers this essential for local acceptance, the presentation states.
40-kilometer barriers
Ten trains per hour will make themselves heard. To mitigate noise issues, Deutsche Bahn will construct 40 kilometers of noise barriers along the stretch from Puttgarden. According to Deutsche Bahn’s presentation, the height and materials of the barriers will vary depending on the surroundings, protecting both residential and natural areas.
A lot to accomplish
The Fehmarn tunnel is scheduled to open in 2029. From here, it’s simply a matter of counting backward. Deutsche Bahn has done so, DB assures, and they’re confident they can meet the deadline. Faster approval procedures and efficient project management should keep everything on track, according to the presentation.
However, the timeline is beyond tight. The project is already behind, and the hearing phase for the new tunnel is not expected to start until the second quarter of 2025.
