Øresund Bridge

Link features

Bridge

At 7.85 km (4.88 mi), the bridge covers half the distance between Sweden and the Danish island of Amager, the border between the two countries being 5.3 km (3.3 mi) from the Swedish end. The structure has a mass of 82,000 tonnes and supports two railway tracks beneath four road lanes in a horizontal girder extending along the entire length of the bridge. On both approaches to the three cable-stayed bridge sections, the girder is supported every 140 m (459 ft) by concrete piers. The two pairs of free-standing cable-supporting towers are 204 m (669 ft) tall allowing shipping 57 m (187 ft) vertical clearance under the main span, but most ships' captains prefer to pass through the unobstructed Drogden Strait above the Øresund Tunnel. The cable-stayed main span is 491 m (1,611 ft) long. A girder and cable-stayed design was chosen to provide the specific rigidity necessary to carry heavy rail traffic, and also to resist large accumulations of ice. The bridge experiences occasional brief closures during very severe weather, such as the St. Jude storm of October 2013.

Access bridges

The access bridges are made up of 49 steel trusses resting on concrete piers. The steel spans have a length of 141 m (463 ft) except at the bridge abutments, where they are shorter at 120 m (390 ft). They were manufactured by Dragados Offshore in Puerto Real near Cádiz, Spain, one of the few companies in Europe with sufficient capacity. Steel plates from British Steel were cut and welded together to form the various components of the truss spans, which were then joined to form 120–141 m (394–463 ft) long spans. These were fitted with a reinforced concrete roadway on the upper level and a concrete railway deck on the lower level. The finished sections were towed on barges to Sundlink's facility in Norra hamnen. Here, the spans were equipped with special concrete troughs for the railway tracks, footbridges along the tracks, etc. Stairs connect the road and railway levels every 700 m (2,300 ft). Three inspection gondolas are suspended under the bridge.

The piers are individually designed, taking into account the calculated load and the bedrock level, resulting in the bridge gradually reaching the 57 m (187 ft) vertical clearance of the main span. The pillars rest on concrete caissons fixed in the bedrock. The pylons of the main span, as well as three piers on either side of them, are surrounded by underwater reefs to reduce the risk of larger ships colliding with the bridge. Both caissons and pylons were manufactured in the Norra hamnen. The caissons, piers and truss spans were transported to their locations in the Sound by the Svanen crane barge. The bridge sections were welded together, but at regular intervals space was left for the thermal expansion of the steel.

Main span

The main span over the Flintrännan fairway is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge for both road and rail traffic. The choice to build a cable-stayed bridge instead of a suspension bridge was based, among other things, on the fact that a suspension bridge could have become unstable if a high-speed train or a heavy freight train were to brake sharply on such a bridge. The bridge is suspended by steel cables attached to 203.5 m (668 ft) tall pylons. The distance between the pylons is 490 m (1,610 ft) and the total length of the main span is 1,092 m (3,583 ft). The vertical clearance is 57 m (187 ft).

The upper level for vehicular traffic consists of a truss of steel beams supporting a concrete roadway. The lower level consists of a continuous railway deck, a sealed steel box. The two decks are held together by vertical trusses. Every thirty meters there are brackets, "outriggers", for suspension in the pylon cables. The steel span was built by Karlskronavarvet with the help of several Swedish and Norwegian subcontractors, including Kockums in Malmö, Norwegian Excon, SSAB in Oxelösund and Knislinge Mekaniska Verkstad. In the Norra hamnen of Malmö, the span was equipped with a concrete roadway, railroad tracks, etc. and could then be transported to the site by Svanen.

Pylons, bearings and cables

The foundations of the pylons are hollow concrete caissons anchored in the limestone bedrock. They were manufactured in Kockums' dry dock in Malmö and towed to site. There they were filled with concrete and ballast. The pylons themselves were cast using equipment that climbed up the already completed sections. At a height of 50 m (160 ft), a concrete crossbeam 10 m (33 ft) high and 30 m (98 ft) wide was cast to connect each pair of pylons. Higher up, continuous steel elements were placed for the attachment of the stay cables. The pylons taper towards the top (cross-section at the bottom 9.4 m × 12.5 m (31 ft × 41 ft), at the top 4.7 m × 6.2 m (15 ft × 20 ft)). The outer sides are completely vertical while those facing inwards are slightly inclined.

Due to high longitudinal and transverse loads acting over the bridge and to accommodate movements between the superstructure and substructure, it has bearings weighing up to 20 t (44,000 lb) each, capable of bearing vertical loads up to 96,000 kN (22,000,000 lb_f) in a longitudinal direction and up to 40,000 kN (9,000,000 lb_f) in transverse direction. The design, manufacturing and installation of the bearings were carried out by the Swiss civil engineering firm mageba.

Vibration issues, caused by several cables in the bridge moving under certain wind and temperature conditions, were combatted with the installation of compression spring dampers installed in pairs at the centre of the cables. Two of these dampers were equipped with laser gauges for ongoing monitoring. Testing, development and installation of these spring dampers was carried out by specialists Lesjöfors.

The bridge span between the pylons is 490 m (1,610 ft) long. It is suspended by stay cables attached to the outriggers, two cables in each. The cables go to the cast-in steel elements in the pylons and the force is then transmitted through cables down to the outriggers of the outer bridge spans. The outer spans are anchored with pre-tensioned cables that run down through the piers.

Peberholm

The western part of the bridge joins the Øresund Tunnel on Peberholm, an artificial island, just south of the island of Saltholm on the Danish side. The Danes chose the name Peberholm (Pepper Islet) to complement the natural island of Saltholm (Salt Islet). The island was built from dredged material from the bottom of the Sound and elsewhere. For instance, large stones from a rock construction site in Kungshamn, Bohuslän, came to line the island together with local Scanian stone from Dalby. Peberholm is approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) long with an average width of 500 m (1,640 ft) and is 20 m (66 ft) high.

At Peberholm, the railroad turns off the highway and runs parallel to the highway down into the Øresund Tunnel. On the island there is a junction where trains can be switched between the two tracks. Exits connect the highway with roads dedicated to maintenance work on the island. In addition, there is a helipad on the island for emergencies, for example in the event of a serious road accident.

Peberholm is a nature reserve and public visits are generally not allowed outside the highway. The island has been allowed to develop its own nature without active human intervention. Several rare species have established themselves on the island.

Øresund Tunnel

The connection between Peberholm and the likewise artificial peninsula at Kastrup on Amager island, the nearest populated part of Denmark, descend under the Drogden fairway, through the 4.05 km (2.52 mi) Øresund Tunnel (Øresundstunnelen). The tunnel comes up on Amager at Copenhagen Airport. The main reason for continuing the link underwater, and not on a bridge, is that a bridge would pose a risk to air traffic to and from the airport.

It comprises a 3.51 km (2.18 mi) immersed tube plus 270 m (890 ft) entry tunnels at each end. At the descent into the tunnel, the railroad turns and runs right next to the highway. The tube tunnel is made from 20 prefabricated reinforced concrete segments – the largest in the world at 55,000 tonnes each – interconnected in a trench dug in the seabed. Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks, two carry roads and a small fifth tube is provided for emergencies. The tubes are arranged side by side. For safety reasons, freight trains carrying dangerous goods cannot be in the same tunnel tube at the same time as other trains, which reduces capacity slightly.

Land connections

Land connections link the Øresund Link to Danish and Swedish roads and railways. The highway connects to the Outer Ring Road in Malmö and the Øresundsmotorvejen (the Øresund Highway) in Copenhagen. The Øresund Line connects to Copenhagen Central Station on the Danish side and the Malmö City Tunnel and the Continental Line on the Swedish side.

On the Danish side, the Copenhagen Airport railway station is situated right at Copenhagen Airport, just west of the Øresund Tunnel entrance. Next to it is the Lufthavnen station of the Copenhagen Metro. There are also connecting tracks to a maintenance workshop. A separate freight track allows freight trains to pass without going past the platforms. However, the crossing freight trains reduce capacity and further measures are required in the foreseeable future to increase the capacity of the railway around Copenhagen Airport.

On the Swedish side, the Malmö City Tunnel was only completed at the end of 2010, more than a decade after the opening of the Øresund Link. Before that, all trains had to run on the Continental Line around Malmö. In Malmö, trains going further north had to turn around because the station was a terminus. The Malmö City Tunnel now allows trains to travel directly between the Øresund Link and Malmö Central Station through a tunnel under the city.

Traffic

Traffic over the Øresund Link consists of both road and rail traffic. Traffic volumes increased sharply in the first years of the link, reaching saturation around 2008. This was followed by a minor decline, the 2008 financial crisis, and a more dramatic one, the COVID-19 recession. Recently, traffic in 2024 reached 15 million rail passengers, the highest to date.

Road traffic

Road traffic over the link consists mainly of passenger cars, goods vehicles and trucks. A small proportion of traffic is made up of buses and motorcycles. Around seven million vehicles cross the link each year, of which around 90% are passenger cars. During most of the year, around half a million vehicles pass through per month, while during the summer, traffic amounts to more than 800 000 vehicles per month.

Rail transport

The rail link is operated jointly by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Danish railway infrastructure manager Banedanmark. Passenger train service is commissioned by Skånetrafiken and the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority (Trafikstyrelsen) under the Øresundståg ("Øresund train") brand, with Transdev being the current operator. A series of new dual-voltage trains was developed, linking the Copenhagen area with Malmö and southern Sweden as far as Gothenburg, Karlskrona and Kalmar. Copenhagen Airport at Kastrup has its own railway station close to the western bridgehead. Since December 2022, trains operate typically every 15 minutes during the day, reducing to once an hour during the night in both directions. Additional Øresundstrains are operated at rush hour. Freight trains also use the crossing.

The rail section is double track 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and capable of speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph), but slower in Denmark, especially in the tunnel section. There were challenges related to the difference in electrification and signalling between the Danish and Swedish railway networks. The solution chosen is to switch the electrical system from Swedish 15 kV, 16.7 Hz to Danish 25 kV, 50 Hz before the eastern bridgehead at Lernacken in Sweden. The Swedish signaling system (ATC) is used with Swedish optical signals on the bridge and switches to Danish ATC on the western part of Peberholm, 7 km (4.3 mi) into Danish territory, which has been justified by the fact that the Swedish system allows higher speed (200 km/h (120 mph)) and costs less to install. There is no way of changing between a locomotive for Danish standard and one for Swedish standard. All rail vehicles using the bridge must be custom made for the standards of both countries.

Trains run on the left in Sweden, and on the right in Denmark. Initially the switch was made at Malmö Central Station, a terminus at that time. After the 2010 inauguration of the Malmö City Tunnel connection, a tunnel was built at Burlöv, north of Malmö, where the two southbound tracks cross over the northbound pair. The railway in Malmö thus uses the Danish standard.

The gradient of the bridge is 1.56%, which is clearly more than what is desired for freight trains, especially on a busy line such as the Øresund Line, where fewer but heavier freight trains are desirable. The Danish Litra EG locomotives are 6-axle to cope with pulling heavy freight trains across Øresund and the Great Belt Bridge. Other locomotives, such as the BR185, can also haul freight trains, but the wagon weight is limited to 1800 tons.

Border checks

The border between Denmark and Sweden runs about 900 m (3,000 ft) west of the western pylon of the Øresund Bridge, which is about 100 m (330 ft) east of the national border signs mounted on the nearest existing posts.

As the link is Sweden's national border, Swedish Customs carry out checks on vehicles directly after the toll booth at Lernacken. It is also the busiest border crossing in Sweden. The Swedish Customs carry out checks when smuggling is suspected. The Øresund Bridge is the Swedish border where most drug seizures are made. Checks on Øresundståg (Øresund trains) (towards Sweden) are carried out to prevent drugs and other illicit goods from entering Sweden.

With both Sweden and Denmark being part of the Nordic Passport Union since the 1950s, border controls between the two countries have been abolished for decades and travellers can normally move freely across the Øresund Bridge. In 2001, both countries also joined the Schengen area, and since then the abolition of border controls is primarily regulated by European Union law, more specifically the Schengen acquis.

However, in November 2015, during the European migrant crisis, Sweden introduced temporary border controls at the border to Denmark in accordance with the provisions of the Schengen acquis on the reintroduction of temporary internal border controls. As such, travellers into Sweden from Denmark (but not travellers into Denmark from Sweden) must show a valid passport or national ID card (citizens of EU/EEA countries) or passport and entry visa (if required) for nationals of other non-EU/EEA countries. The move marked a break with 60 years of border control free travel between the Nordic countries. In January 2016, these border measures were extended by a special carriers' liability, forcing carriers (such as bus, train and ferry companies) to check the identity of all passengers from Denmark before they boarded a bus, train or ferry to Sweden.

In May 2017, Sweden removed the carriers' liability, but the ordinary border controls carried out by the Swedish Police Authority remained on the Swedish side of the Øresund Bridge. In accordance with the Schengen Borders Code, these border controls are only allowed for a period of six months at a time, and therefore have to be renewed twice a year. Currently (April 2025), the advice at the Öresundståg site is "you need to bring valid ID with you" when travelling by train across the bridge.

Costs and benefits

The cost of the Øresund Link, including motorway and railway connections on land, was DKK 30.1 billion (~€4.0 billion) according to the 2000 year price index, with the cost of the bridge expected in 2003 to be recouped by 2037. In 2006, Sweden began work on the Malmö City Tunnel, a SEK 9.45 billion connection with the bridge that was completed in December 2010.

The Link will be entirely user-financed. The owner company, Øresundsbro Konsortiet, is in turn owned in equal parts by the Danish state and the Swedish state. Øresundsbro Konsortiet has taken loans guaranteed by the governments to finance the Link and the user fees are its only income. After the increase in traffic, these fees are enough to pay the interest and begin repaying the loans, which is expected to take about 30 years.

Taxpayers have neither paid for 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 enabling many more trains to and from Malmö.

According to The Öresund Committee, the bridge has made a national economic gain of DKK 57 billion, or SEK 78 billion SEK (~€8.41 billion) on both sides of the strait by increased commuting and lower commuting expense. The gain is estimated to be SEK 6.5 billion per year but this could be increased to 7.7 billion by removing the three biggest obstacles to integration and mobility, the two largest being that non-EU nationals in Sweden are not allowed to work in Denmark and that many professional qualifications and merits are not mutually recognised.

A 2021 study found that the bridge led to an increase in innovation in Malmö. The key mechanism appears to be that high-skilled workers were drawn to Malmö. A 2022 study found that the bridge caused an increase of 13.5% in the average wage of workers in the region, as the bridge expanded the size of the labor market.

Aesthetic considerations

A bridge should not have an overly fancy design. A bridge should express strength.

— Georg Rotne

The Øresund Bridge has been criticized for being too "brutalist". Other critics have lamented that the project did not dare to take risks, that it relied on tried and true solutions. Danish architect Georg Rotne wanted to create a powerful bridge. All steel details are painted black. The pylons are illuminated at night but nothing else of the bridge. Some details of the design have no purely technical or economic justification but are added for aesthetic reasons:

• The Øresundsbro Konsortiet wanted a straight bridge. Rotne, on the other hand, wanted the bridge to be slightly S-shaped. The compromise was a C-shaped bridge. The curvature is hardly noticeable to road users but is clearly visible when seen from land. Experience from straight stretches of several kilometers or miles of long-distance roads shows that they increase the risk of drivers falling asleep.
• The access bridges rise gradually from the abutments up to the main span. It would have been economically rational to leave the bridges at low level for a longer distance.
• Other similar bridges tend to have one or more high crossbeams between the pylons. This can make them look like giant rugby goals, according to Rotne. Instead, the pylons of the Øresund Bridge rise freely 150 m (490 ft) upwards from the bridge span, which has required extra reinforcement.
• The pylons and the piers of the main span (but not the piers of the access bridges) have pentagonal cross-sections, although rectangular pylons and columns would have worked equally well.

Possible future development

There are no firm plans for an extension of the Øresund Link or a new complementary link. However, there are several different proposals for a new complementary link.

• HH Tunnel: A Helsingborg-Helsingør train tunnel has been proposed. The municipality of Helsingborg has carried out a study with cost calculations and has reserved land etc. The proposal includes a double-track passenger train tunnel and a single-track freight train tunnel. A new Helsingør-Copenhagen railway would be required.
• Öresund Metro: A Copenhagen-Malmö metro tunnel has been proposed, an extension of the Copenhagen Metro. A study has been carried out on the initiative of the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö, which shows that it may be justifiable in the longer term.
• Europaspåret: A Landskrona–Copenhagen tunnel has been highlighted as an option in a study. Landskrona is roughly in line with Copenhagen's northern suburbs and a tunnel could hypothetically run diagonally across the strait and connect to the Danish rail network in the northern parts of the Danish capital. The proposal is based on the fact that this route is the closest route to Copenhagen from the parts of Sweden north of Malmö as it avoids both Helsingør and Malmö. It is estimated that the travel time would be reduced by about ten minutes for travelers from Lund.
• A new Øresund link was called for in 2010 by, among others, the chairman of the Malmö city council and the Social Democrats' spokesperson on infrastructure issues.
• A freight train tunnel between Peberholm and Hvidovre, west of the island of Amager, was proposed by the then-Danish Minister for Transport, Henrik Dam Kristensen. There are safety requirements that prohibit passenger trains and freight trains carrying dangerous goods simultaneously using the same tunnel tube. With the current signaling system, the Kastrup-Ørestad railway line is close to the maximum limit of its capacity.

Cultural references

• The bridge lends its name to the Nordic noir television series The Bridge, which is set in the region around the bridge.
• When Malmö hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, the bridge was the inspiration for a similar element in the set design, symbolising the connection between Sweden and the rest of Europe.
• The bridge was the inspiration behind the 2014 song "Walk Me to the Bridge" by Manic Street Preachers from their album Futurology.

Environmental effects

The underwater parts of the bridge have become covered in marine organisms and act as an artificial reef.