Danish Transport Minister Lars Barfoed has rejected a proposal from the Technical University of Denmark to build an additional link to Sweden, meaning travellers choosing the northern border crossing will continue to do so via ferry.
University researchers, led by professor in traffic patterns Otto Anker Nielsen, advised that the Oresund Bridge linking the two countries is insufficient, proposing that a second bridge or tunnel be constructed to relieve stress on the Oresund and benefit the area’s growth.
Anker Nielsen’s Centre for Traffic and Transport study found that the tunnel, which would stretch from Helsingor to the Swedish coastal city of Helsingborg, was the best option to cope with forecasted regional expansion.“The H-H connection is profitable from both an operational and societal perspective and is therefore clearly the best solution,” he stated, according to the Sydsvenskan daily newspaper.
The study argued for an additional connection between the two countries based on traffic forecasts which predicted the existing bridge between Malmo and Copenhagen would reach capacity by the year 2018. Traffic forecasts also suggested that more than 500 trains would be crossing the channel every day in 2018. The cost of the project was estimated at DKK 50 billion.
However, as reported in The Copenhagen Post, Barfoed denied that the proposed changes were necessary or feasible at this time saying: “We have neither the capacity, the money nor the need for projects of that size”. He did acknowledge that a bridge replacing the existing ferry operation may be an option in the future. “Right now though, the existing Oresund Bridge is enough to handle the traffic crossing over the Oresund.”
I agree that the link to Germany is more important than another link to Sweden both from a Swedish/Danish perspective and a European one. With the new link Copenhagen to Hamburg train times would be cut to just 2 hrs, and I dare say Sweden will push actively for a night train through to Hamburg from Stockholm if not an X2000. I would very much like a night train from Stockholm to Hamburg, it would make my life a lot easier.
of course, DKK were already spent on financing links with Germany.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fehmarn_Belt_bridge