THE ØRESUND BRIDGE & TUNNEL > LAND LINK BETWEEN SWEDEN & DENMARK

The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined railway & motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Sweden & Denmark – consists of a 8KM bridge, an artificial island Peberholm & a 4KM Drogden Tunnel to Denmark

Video of my air journey over ØRESUND below

This view immediately follows after takeoff from & landing to Copenhagen Kastrup Airport clearly showing the following areas – The 8KM Bridge, The 4KM Peberholm artificial island and the ”DISAPPEARING” TUNNEL Section to Copehagen Kastrup airport Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Connects two sea seperated

• DENMARK AMAGER ISLAND : COPENHAGEN area / KASTRUP airport
• ØRESUND 3 PART:Undersea tunnel > Peberholm artificial island > Bridge
• DENMARK SALTHOLM ISLAND : 7KM long / 3KM wide, flooding vulnerable
• SWEDEN LAND MASS NEAR THE SWEDISH CITY OF MALMO

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Describe the Train Journey on the ØRESUND

• EUROPE CONTINENT’s lands > Mainland Europe Northern Europe
• COUNTRIES (major metro)>DENMARK(Copenhagen)/SWEDEN(Malmö)
• INTERNATIONAL BORDER>SWEDEN/DENMARK>EU SCHENGEN AREA
• PASSPORT CONTROL/CHECKS>SCHENGEN but were/are/can be imposed
• ROAD & RAIL NETWORKS > Scandinavian Peninsula Mainland Europe
• DATA CABLES > A data cable also makes the bridge the intenet backbone

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• Designer : Jorgen Nissen,Klaus Falbe Hansen,Niels Gimsing & Georg Rotne
• Engineering design by : Ove Arup & Partners, Setec, ISC, Gimsing & Madsen
• Constructed by : Hochtief,Skanska,Højgaard & Schultz,Monberg&Thorsen
• Construction start : 1995
• Construction end : 1999
• Construction cost : 2.6 billion Euro approx.
• Opened : 1 July 2000

The Øresund Bridge & Tunnel > Land link between Sweden & Denmark

The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined railway & motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Sweden & Denmark – consists of ØRESUND Connectivity is 3 Parts –

1. PART A – An 8 KM Bridge

2. PART B – An Artificial island Peberholm

3. PART C – A 4 KM long undersea Drogden Tunnel to Denmark

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ØRESUND PART A > THE BRIDGE PORTION > Øresund Bridge/Öresund Bridge

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Overview

• Official name : Øresundbron(company use) , Øresundsbroen , Öresundsbron
• Carries : 4 lanes European route E20 & Double track Oresund Railway line
• Crosses : Øresund strait (the Sound)
• Locale : Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden
• Daily Ridership / Vehicle movement Statistics : >20000 road vehicles, 55EURO

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Overall bridge Characteristics

• Design : 1 Cable-stayed bridge + Regular bridge section on either side
• Total length : 7845 metres (including 1 Cable-stayed bridge of 490m)
• Regular bridge : Girder approach supported every 140 m by concrete piers
• Width : 23.5 metres

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Cable-Stayed Bridge Characteristics

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• Height : 204 metres (two pairs of free-standing cable-supporting towers)
• Longest span : 490 metres
• Clearance below : 57 metres of head room under Cable-stayed bridge

But most ships’ captains prefer to pass through the unobstructed Drogden Strait above the Drogden Tunnel !

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Rational / Reason for cable-stayed span

• Provide the rigidity necessary to carry heavy rail traffic
• Resist huge accumulations of ice in winters

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Managing loads

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Heavy bearings weighing up to 20 t each capable of bearing vertical loads up to 96,000 kN in a longitudinal direction and up to 40,000 kN in transverse direction helps

• Managing high longitudinal and transverse loads acting over the bridge
• To accommodate movements between the superstructure & substructure

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Managing vibrations in cables

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ØRESUND PART B > THE ARTIFICIAL ISLAND PORTION > PEBERHOLM ISLAND

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The Peberholm artificial island > Artificial island created as part of Øresund

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• Peberholm (1.3 km² (325 acres) is a small artificial island in the Danish part of the Øresund strait, created as part of the Øresund Bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden
• The bridge joins Drogden tunnel on the artificial island of Peberholm (Pepper Islet). The Danes chose the name to complement the natural island of Saltholm (Salt Islet) just to the north.
• Peberholm is a designated nature reserve built from Swedish rock and the soil dredged up during the bridge and tunnel construction
• Length : 4 km (2.5 mi) long approximately
• Wideth : with an average width of 500 metres
• Height above MSL : 20 m high

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Reasons for construction of Peberholm Island instead of continuing bridge

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• To have a crossover point between the tunnel and the bridge
• To stop interference with obstacle-free zones around Kastrup Airport
• Provide an opportunity for large ships to pass the Öresund without worrying about the height of the bridge.
• To make the Øresund Bridge higher would interfere with the freight train traffic because a steeper gradient would be needed
• The border between Swedish and Danish train signalling and train traffic control is located on Peberholm
• Peberholm is protected by strict laws
• Only biologists are allowed one annual visit to the areas of the island outside of the railroad and highway to which the island owes its creation

The connection between Peberholm and the artificial peninsula at Kastrup on Amager island, the nearest populated part of Denmark, is through the 4,050-metre long Drogden Tunnel (Drogdentunnelen).

Drogden Tunnel comprises a

• 3,510-metre (11,516 ft) immersed tube

PLUS

• 270-metre (886 ft) entry tunnels at each end.

• The tube tunnel made from 20 prefabricated reinforced concrete segments
• The largest in the world at 55,000 tonnes each
• The segments are interconnected in a trench dug in the seabed
• Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks
• Two tubes carry roads and a
• Small fifth tube is provided for emergencies
• The tubes are arranged side-by-side

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Rail transport

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• Administration > Swedish Transport Administration/Danish Railways
• Passenger train service commissioned by Skånetrafiken,Danish transport
• Operators : Transdev and DSB, SJ operates X2000 trains, freight trains also

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Electrification difference in Sweden & Denmark

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• Developed dual-voltage trains.
• The solution chosen is to switch the electrical system from Swedish 15 kV,16.7 Hz to Danish 25 kV,50 Hz
• Rail Section Gauge / Speed : 1435 mm standard gauge / upto 200 KMPH

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Signalling difference in Sweden & Denmark

• The line is signalled according to the standard Swedish system across the length of the bridge.
• On Peberholm the line switches to Danish signalling, which continues into the tunnel

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Train Direction difference in Sweden & Denmark

• Trains run on the left in Sweden and on the right in Denmark.
• The railway at Malmo uses Danish standard

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Øresund Bridge / Öresund Bridge > Costs & Benefits

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• The cost for the Øresund Connection, including motorway and railway connections on land ~€4.0 bn
• According to the 2000 year price index, with the cost of the bridge expected in 2003 to be recouped by 2037
• Taxpayers have paid for neither the bridge nor the tunnel, but tax money has been used for the land connections.
• On the Danish side, the land connection has domestic benefits, mainly to connect the airport to the railway network.
• The Malmö City Tunnel has the benefit of connecting the southern part of the inner city to the rail network and allowing many more trains to and from Malmö.
• According to The Öresund Committee, the bridge has made a national economic gain of~€8.41 billion on both sides of the strait by increased commuting and lower commuting expense