The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will open in two stages following delays to construction of the tunnel and land facilities on the German side.
The revised plan means the road connection will open first, while the railway will open later, once the necessary facilities on the German side are in place.
“It is unfortunate for the green transition and for rail passengers that the railway cannot open at the same time as the road connection. A phased opening makes it possible to put the tunnel into use earlier for road traffic, while also reducing complexity in the final stage of the project,” said Sund & Bælt CEO Mikkel Hemmingsen.
In July last year, the Federal Ministry of Transport in Germany announced it would not be possible to bring the German railway land facilities into operation in 2029 as planned. This is mainly because of the lengthy and complex approval and permit procedures for starting construction work in Germany.
At the same time, construction on the Danish side is currently around two years behind schedule because of challenges with the specialised vessel used for immersing the tunnel elements.
The project is also affected by the conditions in the German authority’s plan approval, which sets strict limits for underwater noise and for where and when work can be carried out in German waters. These conditions make it difficult to recover the lost time and may lead to further delays in the project.
Sund & Bælt says it will present a new time schedule after the immersion of the first tunnel elements, which will be based on the specific experiences with the immersion of standard and special elements and the handling of the conditions set out in the German authority’s plan approval.
The first of the 89 elements was immersed earlier this month.
