Copenhagen Metro

Crossover from elevated railway to tunnel near Islands Brygge

Copenhagen Metro train, with DR Byen in the background

The planning of the metro was spurred by the development of the Ørestad area of Copenhagen. The principle of building a rail transit was passed by the Parliament of Denmark on 24 June 1992, with the Ørestad Act.[14] The responsibility for developing the area, as well as building and operating the metro, was given to the Ørestad Development Corporation, a joint venture between Copenhagen Municipality (45%) and the Ministry of Finance (55%). Initially, three modes were considered: a tramway, a light rail and a rapid transit. In October 1994, the Development Corporation chose a light rapid transit.[15]

The tram solution would have been a street tram, without any major infrastructure investments in the city centre, such as a dedicated right-of-way. Through Ørestad it would have had level crossings, except for a grade-separated crossing with the European Route E20 and the Øresund Line. It would have had a driver and have operated at about a 150-second interval—twice the cycle time of the city's traffic lights. Power would have been provided with overhead wires. Stops were to be located about every 500 m (1,640 ft 5 in) at street level. The articulated trams would have been about 35 m (114 ft 10 in) long and have a capacity for 230 passengers.[16]

The light rail model would have used the same approach as the tram in Ørestad, but would instead have run through a tunnel in the city centre. The tunnel sections would be shorter, but the diameter larger because it would have to accommodate overhead wires. The system would have the same frequency as the tram, but use double trams and would therefore require larger stations. The metro solution was chosen because it combined the highest average speeds, the highest passenger capacity, the lowest visual and noise impact, and the lowest number of accidents. Despite requiring the highest investment, it had the highest net present value.[16]

The decision to build stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, and stage 3, to the airport, was taken by Parliament on 21 December 1994.[14] Stage 2 involved the establishment of the company Frederiksbergbaneselskabet I/S in February 1995, owned 70% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 30% by Frederiksberg Municipality. The third stage would be built by Østamagerbaneselskabet I/S, established in September 1995 and owned 55% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 45% by Copenhagen County. In October 1996, a contract was signed with the Copenhagen Metro Construction Group (COMET) for building the lines (Civil Works), and with Ansaldo STS for delivery of technological systems and trains, and to operate the system the first five years.[15] COMET was a single-purpose consortium composed of Astaldi, Bachy, SAE, Ilbau, NCC Rasmussen & Schiøtz Anlæg and Tarmac Construction.[17]

Escalators at Amagerbro Station

Construction started in November 1996, with the moving of underground pipes and wires around the station areas. In August 1997, work started at the depot, and in September, COMET started the first mainline work. In October and November, the two tunnel boring machines (TBM), christened Liva and Betty, were delivered. They started boring each barrel of the tunnel from Islands Brygge in February 1998. The same month, the Public Transport Authority gave the necessary permits to operate a driverless metro. The section between Fasanvej and Frederiksberg is a former S-train line, and was last operated as such on 20 June 1998.[15]

The first section of tunnel was completed in September 1998, and the TBMs moved to Havnegade. By December 1998, work had started on the initial nine stations. Plans for M2 were presented to the public in April 1999, with a debate emerging if the proposed elevated solution was the best. In May, the first trains were delivered, and trial runs began at the depot. In December, the tunnels were completed to Strandlodsvej, and the TBMs were moved to Havnegade, where they started to grind towards Frederiksberg. From 1 January 2000, the S-train service from Solbjerg to Vanløse was terminated, and work commenced to rebuild the section to metro. The last section of tunnel was completed in February 2001.[15]

In March 2001, Copenhagen County Council decided to start construction of stage 3. On 6 November 2001, the first train operated through a tunnel section. On 28 November, laying of tracks along stage 1, and stage 2A from Nørreport to Frederiksberg, was completed. An agreement about financing stage 3 was reached on 12 April. By 22 May, the 18 delivered trains had test-run 100,000 km (62,000 miles).[15] The section from Nørreport to Lergravsparken and Vestamager was opened on 19 October 2002. Initially, the system had a 12-minute headway on each of the two services. From 3 December this was reduced to 9 minutes, and from 19 December to 6 minutes.[18] Operation of the system was subcontracted to Ansaldo, who again subcontracted it to Metro Service, a subsidiary of Serco. The contract had a duration of five years, with an option for extension for another three.[19]

Elevated station on Amager – Ørestad Station

Trial runs on stage 2A began on 24 February 2003 and opened on 29 May. All changes to bus and train schedules in Copenhagen took place on 25 May, but to allow Queen Margrethe II to open the line, the opening needed to be adapted to her calendar. This caused four days without a bus service along the line.[20] Stage 2B, from Frederiksberg to Vanløse, opened on 12 October.[21]

Forum Station was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2005.[22] On 2 December 2005, the final agreement to build the City Circle Line was made between the local and national governments. The price was estimated at 11.5 to 18.3 billion Danish krone (DKK), of which DKK 5.4 billion will be financed though ticket sales, and the remaining from the state and municipalities.[23] In 2006, it was announced that the contract with Ansaldo to operate the metro had been prolonged another three years.[19] However, the subcontract between Ansaldo and Serco Group was not extended, and the contract was instead given to Azienda Trasporti Milanesi in joint venture with Ansaldo; they took over operations from October 2007.[24] The Ørestad Development Corporation was discontinued in 2007, and the ownership of the metro was transferred to Metroselskabet I/S.[25]

In January 2007, the city council decided that a branch was to be built during construction at Nørrebro, to allow a future branch line from the City Circle Line towards Brønshøj. The first part of this line was intended to be constructed at the same time as the City Circle Line, to avoid a multitude-higher construction cost and long interruptions of operations later. This did not involve a final decision, only an option for future construction.[26] The Herlev/Brønshøj line was ultimately dropped as the City of Copenhagen withdrew its share of the cost of the Nørrebro branch chamber in its 2009 budget, and the state refused to continue the project. Any branch to the Herlev / Brønshøj region would now require a shutdown of the City Circle Line for an extended period of time.[27][28]

In March 2007, a proposal to establish a station at Valby, where the Carlsberg Group is planning an urban redevelopment, was scrapped. The proposal would have increased construction costs by DKK 900 million and was deemed not economical. The increased cost was, in part, due to an extra TBM being needed to complete the project on time.[29] The City Circle Line was passed by parliament on 1 June 2007, with only the Red–Green Alliance voting in disfavor.[30]

The 4.5 km (2.8-mile) stage 3 opened on 28 September 2007, from Lergravsparken to the airport. It followed, for the most part, the route of the former Amager Line of the Danish State Railways. With this stage complete, the 34 trains were delivered for use by the M1 and M2. However, the line caused a heated debate, with several locals organized themselves into the Amager Metro Group. The group argued that the line should have been built underground, citing concerns that it would create noise pollution and a physical barrier in Amager.[31] In April 2008, the Copenhagen Metro won the award at MetroRail 2008 for the world's best metro. The jury noted the system's high regularity, safety and passenger satisfaction, as well as the efficient transport to the airport.[32] During 2008, the metro experienced a 16% passenger growth to 44 million passengers per year.[33]

Several parties agreed in September 2008 not to fund a northwest expansion of the metro.[34]

Initially, the system operated trains from 01:00 to 05:00 only on Thursdays through Saturdays, but, starting on 19 March 2009, night service was extended to the rest of the week. This caused a logistical challenge, because Metro Service used the nights for maintenance. The routes were therefore set up in such a way that the system could be operated on only a single track, leaving the other free for work.[35] In May 2009, six companies were pre-qualified to bid for the public service obligation to operate the metro. These were Serco-NedRailways, Ansaldo STS, Arriva, S-Bahn Hamburg, Keolis and DSB Metro—a joint venture between DSB and RATP.[36] The process was delayed because of a procedural error by Metroselskabet, who failed to pre-qualify DSB Metro.[37]

Diagram of Copenhagen Metro following the opening of the northern part of the M4 (2020)

An expansion of the metro, the City Circle Line, is current and opened on 29 September 2019.[38] Independent of the existing system, it circles the city centre and connects the areas of Østerbro, Nørrebro and Vesterbro to Frederiksberg and Indre By. The line is 15.5 km (9.6 miles) long and runs entirely in tunnel. The circle has 17 stations, two of which are interchanges with both the M1 and M2 lines, as well with three Copenhagen S-train stations. It takes 25 minutes to complete a full lap in either direction. Archaeological and geological surveys started in 2007, preferred bidders were announced in November 2010[38] and contracts were signed in 2011.[39] Preparations began by moving utilities etc. in 2010, and construction of work sites and stations began in 2011. Drilling of tunnels began in 2013.[39] On 7 January 2011 the new project called Cityringen started with the signing of new contracts by Metroselskabet, with Ansaldo Breda and Ansaldo Sts (Finmeccanica Group) for the supply of trains and control systems and with an Italian joint-venture led by Salin Construttori (about 60%) and Tecnimont (about 40%) with Seli as third partner for the construction part. In July 2013, Natur- og Miljøklagenævnet, the environmental appeals board, ruled that the city was wrong to grant Metroselskabet permission for 24-hour work days and noise levels of up to 78 db at the Marmorkirken site. This forced construction to stop work at 6PM until a final ruling was made, thus delaying the completion date.[40]

Underground junction of the M3 and M4 lines. The tunnels in the middle are for the M3 line and the outer tunnels for the M4 line.

The City Circle Line is serviced by lines M3 and M4. The M3 opened by 29 September 2019, and its trains operate on the entire circle in either direction. The M3 has transfers to M1 and M2 at Frederiksberg and Kongens Nytorv.[41] The line is estimated to carry 240,000 daily passengers, bringing the metro's total daily ridership to 460,000.[30][42]

The M4 was opened on 28 March 2020 when two additional stations were opened in the Nordhavn district. This line running from Copenhagen Central Station (København H) via Østerport to Orientkaj station in Nordhavn, thus sharing six stations with the M3 and featuring two additional Nordhavn stations. The M4 line is interchange with the M1 and M2 at Kongens Nytorv.

An extension to the Sydhavn district is expected to open by 2024 and will also be served by the M4. The addition of this line will relocate the M4's southern terminus from Copenhagen Central Station to Ny Ellebjerg.

A northwestern expansion of the City Circle Line was planned, where M4 would have diverted at Nørrebro and run to the suburbs of Brønshøj and Gladsaxe. This project was abandoned, as the interchange chamber between any such line and the City Circle Line was scrapped as part of the City of Copenhagen's 2009 budget. In subsequent plans, the northern extension of the M4 was instead relocated as a Nordhavn branch which connects with the City Circle Line at Østerport. The Nordhavn extension with two stations opened on 28 March 2020. The southern extension of the M4 will run from Copenhagen Central Station through Sydhavn to Ny Ellebjerg, where the M4 will link up with the S-train and regional train system. The Danish Transport Authority (Trafikstyrelsen) has suggested converting the F-line of the S-train network to metro standard as an M5 line. If the M5 line becomes reality, it will connect with existing lines at Flintholm Station (interchange with M1 and M2), Nørrebro station (interchange with M3), and the future Ny Ellebjerg station (interchange with M4).

The fourth line, M4 or the Harbour line, shares the track with the M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport station (six stations shared). An additional extension to the M4 is under construction: service the southern (Sydhavn) harbour district in Copenhagen. The completed M4 between Orientkaj and Ny Ellebjerg will feature 13 stations.[43]

The northern extension, Nordhavn station and Orientkaj station,[44] both begun service on 28 March 2020.[45] The southern extension will add five additional stops to the M4, with its southern terminus moving from Copenhagen Central Station to Ny Ellebjerg. This line will service the southern harbour district and is expected to open by 2024.[45]

As of 2019, the M1 and M2 has a total of 22 stations. After opening of the City Circle Line, the metro system is featured 3 lines with a total of 37 stations. Upon completion of both extensions of the M4, the system will feature four lines with 44 stations. 8 of these will be interchanges with the S-train.[44]

Many new lines have been discussed. Initially Line M4 was supposed to supplement the circular M3 on the eastern side of the Inner City between Nørrebro station and Copenhagen Central Station. At this time, an extension was suggested from Nørrebro to the northwestern suburbs with a terminus at Husum station. This was abandoned as the City of Copenhagen rejected funding interchange chamber under Nørrebro station necessary for this extension.[46] Instead, the city preferred the M4 to branch at Østerport station to facilitate development of the Nordhavn harbour area.[46]

The "M5"-label appears to having been reserved for a potential future conversion of Line F of the Copenhagen S-train to metro standard.[47] In 2011, the City of Copenhagen suggested two additional lines M6 and M7, the M6 linking the northwestern suburbs and central Amager and the M7 forming a second ring line further east than the M3,[48] and a western extension of the M1 or M2 to Brøndbyøster was also suggested.[49] In 2017, the city of Copenhagen suggested a new M6 line connecting Brønshøj and Refshaleøen via Copenhagen Central Station.[50] In 2018, the government and the city agreed on plans to construct an artificial island, Lynetteholmen north of Refshaleøen, and the city included its plans to link Copenhagen Central Station and Refshaleøen in this discussion.[51]

As of January 2018, no further development will be done after the construction of the Harbour line, or Line M4 between Ny Ellebjerg station and Orientkaj in the Nordhavn area, except for a few more stations northeast of Orientkaj.[52]

In September 2011, the city of Copenhagen and neighbouring Malmö in Sweden announced that they were seeking European Union funding to study a potential metro line under the Øresund to the neighbourhood of Malmö Central Station, providing faster trips and additional capacity beyond that of the existing Øresund Bridge.[53] The study, for which the EU granted funding in the following December,[54] will consider both a simple shuttle between the two stations and a continuous line integrated with the local transport networks on each side, and they anticipate a travel time of 15 minutes between the two city centers.[55] Work on the study is expected to continue until 2020.[56]

The Control and Maintenance Center is a 1.1-hectare (2.7-acre) facility located at the south end of M1. It consists of a storage area for trains not in use, a maintenance area and the control facility. Trains operate automatically through the system, and can also automatically be washed on the exterior. The facility has 5 km (3.1 mi) of track, of which 800 m (870 yd) is a test track for use after maintenance. The most common repairs are wheel grinding; more complicated repairs are made by replacing entire components that are sent to the manufacturer. By having components in reserve, trains can have shorter maintenance time. The depot also has several maintenance trains, including diesel locomotives[76] that are able to retrieve broken down or disabled trains.[77]

At any time, there are four or five people working at the control center: two monitor the ATC system, one monitors passenger information, and one is responsible for secondary systems, such as power supply. In case of technical problems, there is always a team of linepeople that can be dispatched to perform repairs. Although the trains are not equipped with drivers, there are stewards at stations and on most trains that help passengers, perform ticket controls and assist in emergency situations.[77]