Oresund Railway

Infobox rail line
name = Oresund Railway

---

caption = The Oresund Bridge
type = High-speed railway
system = Danish railways
Swedish railways
status =
start = Fosieby
end = Copenhagen H
stations = 4
open = 2000
close =
owner = Banverket
Banedanmark
operator = Danske Statsbaner
SJ
Skåne commuter rail
Railion
character = Passenger and freight
stock = X2
X31
EG
linelength = 38 km
tracklength = 76 km
notrack = Double
gauge = RailGauge|sg
el = 15 kV AC
25 kV 50 Hz
speed =
elevation = |

Oresund Railway (Swedish: Öresundbanan, Danish: Øresundbanen) is a railway between Copenhagen in Denmark to Malmö in Sweden via the Oresund Bridge. On the Swedish side the railway infrastructure is managed by Banverket, on the Danish side the railway infrastructure is managed by Banedanmark.

The railway line continues from the Kontinentalbanan south of Malmö and heads east passing over the Oresund Bridge on the lower section, the artificial island Peberholm, under Copenhagen Airport to Copenhagen Central Station. In Malmö the tunnel City Tunnel, Malmö is being built to connect the railway directly to Malmö Central Station, without having to operate it as a terminus station.

Oresundtrains are operated by Danske Statsbaner and Skåne commuter rail between Copenhagen and Malmö. On the Danish side, a lot of trains continue northwards on Kystbanen to Helsingør. SJ operates X 2000 high-speed trains between Stockholm - Malmö - Copenhagen. Freight trains are operated by Railion using EG locomotives.

History

Plans for connecting Scania (Skåne) and Zealand (Sjælland) with a bridge have been raised throughout the entire 20th century, but in 1991 a company was created to start the work. Construction of the Oresund Bridge and Oresund Railway started in 1995 and was completed in 2000.

One of the challenges with the line was incompatibility between the railway electrification between Denmark and Sweden. Denmark uses 25 kV 50 Hz while Sweden uses 15 kV AC. Also the signaling system is different between the two countries. The problem was solved by switching the signalling system on Peberholm while the entire bridge uses the Danish electrical system. All the trains that operate on the line must therefore be equipped with dual electrical adaption systems, including a minority of the X2 trains operated throughout Sweden by SJ.

Also, on double tracks in Denmark, trains run on the right side and in Sweden on the left side. On the Oresund Railway trains runs on right side, and trains change side at the Malmö terminus station.

Line

*flagicon|Sweden Sweden
**Fosieby (0 / 38 km) - line leaves Kontinentalbanan
**Malmö South Station (4 / 34 km)
**Lernacken (10 / 28 km) - Enter the Oresund Bridge, switch of electric current.
*flagicon|Denmark Denmark
**Peberholm (21 / 17 km) - Change of signaling system
**Copenhagen Airport (29 /9 km)
**Tårnby Station (31 / 7 km)
**Ørestad (32 / 6 km) - Metro crosses the Oresund Railway
**Copenhagen Central Station (38 / 0 km) - terminus

External links

* [http://www.banverket.se/sv/Amnen/Jarnvagen/Undersida-1-Jarnvagen/12-Jarnvagen/Oresundsbron.aspx Banverket page on Öresundbanan]
* [http://www.jarnvag.net/banguide/Fosieby-Kopenhamn.asp Järnväg.net page on Öresundbanan]