First international subway might become a reality between Sweden and Denmark

The results of a study on the idea will be presented on Friday, 9 April

Øresund is the name of the sea strait that lies between the Danish capital Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö. It is now feasible that in the near future there might be a subway tunnel running under that sea to connect the two cities, which would make it the first transnational subway system in the world.

For the past 10 years, officials and experts from both cities have been involved in studying the feasibility of such an undertaking from different aspects. Tomorrow, 9 April, the results will be presented at an online conference where the idea for the Öresund Metro will start taking shape more visibly.

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The strait is already crossed by the Öresund Bridge which is used for car and rail traffic, however, there has been an increase in passenger and freight traffic over the past years between the two countries, which necessitates further expansion, which should also be more environmentally sustainable in line with EU ambitions.

The planners of the project claim that the implementation of the Metro would shorten travel times between the two cities from 40 to 23 minutes and allow for expanded passenger volumes. Scheduled subway trains could depart every 90 seconds and allow 2.3 million people on both sides to reach any point in the other city within an hour, which would have the result of creating a continuous and integrated labour market.

Furthermore, demographic trends in Greater Copenhagen (general ageing of the population) and Skane region in Sweden (more positive trend) would allow for creating a balance. The results, which will be presented tomorrow concern the fourth feasibility study which took place between October 2017 and March 2021 and focused on the possible local and regional impacts, larger international transport connectivity and the labour market effects.

The webinar will take place (13:00-14:30) on the YouTube channel of Malmö City Hall. The mayors of the two cities will attend and the participants will be free to as questions, however, previous registration is required (in Swedish).