Hamburg-Copenhagen in 2.5 hours by 2029 compared with more than 4h30 today. Dresden-Prague in one hour after 2040 compared with 2h30 today. Visit Deutsche Bahn (DB) is investing heavily in the modernisation of its international lines.
Denmark closer to the European continent
However, the most advanced project is the line that will link Hamburg to Copenhagen via Lübeck. In future, this rail link will no longer run exclusively via Flensburg, the island of Jutland and Odense in Denmark to reach Copenhagen.
Together with the German government, the European Union and the Land of Schleswig-Holstein, DB is investing €3.5 billion to construction of an 18.2 km tunnel. It will cross the German island of Fehmarn to reach the Danish island of Lolland. The latter offers more direct access to Copenhagen. Once completed, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel will be the world's longest underwater tunnel for vehicles and trains.
The tunnel was officially opened in December. On the German side, in addition to the 18.2 km of tunnel, 88 km of new track to be built between Lübeck and Puttgarden on the island of Fehmarn. Danish side, high-speed trains have been running between Copenhagen and Ringsted, in the province of Zeeland, since this year. Next year, the trains, which can reach a top speed of 250 km/h, will link Rødbyhavn on the island of Lolland.
In addition to faster trains and shorter journeys, the future line will also make it possible to boost freight traffic on a Scandinavia-Italy route. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is expected to be used by 68 freight trains a day. While a a dozen trains will carry passengers in each direction.
Prague-Berlin in two and a half hours after 2040
Another project in development is a 30 km tunnel between Germany and the Czech Republic. Germany has just announced the start of the planning process. This will be a lengthy process, as work is not expected to start before 2032 due to the complexity of the terrain in the Elbe Valley, to the south-east of Dresden.
A single tunnel 30 km long would be bored 15 km from Dresden towards Usti nad Labem, the first major town on the Czech side. 45 km of new route are included in the future infrastructureThe financing of this project is currently under discussion. The estimated date of entry into service is after 2040. The future tunnel will then make it possible to reduce the journey time between Berlin and Prague to 2.5 hours.
