The new link is to link the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, which joins the Danish island of Lolland to the German island of Fehmarn, with the mainland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
For freight transport between northern Europe and Italy, this link will ensure that traffic can be shifted to rail in line with the EU climate targets.
The project involves a total of 88 kilometres of track in Germany between the village of Puttgarden on Fehmarn and Lübeck. The link is scheduled to enter service at the end of 2029.
The project was officially launched on the German island of Fehmarn in December by Berthold Huber (DB Management Board Member for Infrastructure), Daniel Günther (Premier of Schleswig-Holstein) and Susanne Henckel (State Secretary to the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport).
“After years of planning, today we can celebrate the start of construction for the rail link here on Fehmarn. With our Danish partners, here in the middle of the Baltic Sea we’ll complete a new European rail link from Denmark through Germany to Italy by 2029. This corridor is equally important for local and long-distance transport here in Schleswig-Holstein and for European freight transport,” Huber said at the project’s opening ceremony.
Günther added:
“The start of construction for the rail link is an event we’ve been working towards for a long time. With this international transportation project, we’re bringing Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, their economies, and especially their people closer together. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is a powerful symbol of European cooperation and solidarity.”