Danish politicians are considering the construction of a rail tunnel linking Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden that could become the "son" of the Øresund fixed link between Copenhagen and Malmo. The project is estimated to cost between DK4bn-DK8bn ($504M-$1,000M).
Denmark’s Cowi engineering consultancy is currently studying various options including a single track rail tunnel, which would only allow trains to pass through in one direction at a time, or a double track rail tunnel. A possible north and south bound line is also being considered.
Cowi suggests that an immersed tunnel could be built on the Danish side and a bored tunnel on the Swedish side. Once work starts completion would be in five to six years.
The tunnel would complete an orbital rail link in the Sundsring, an area containing three million people that encompasses Copenhagen, Helsingør, Helsingborg and Malmö.
Cowi chief project manager Sren Ivar Dahlgren said local authorities in western Skne and Helsingør are vehemently opposed to keeping the existing "horse shoe" shaped rail system created by the Øresund crossing. Instead they are fighting for the construction of the Helsingør-Helsingborg tunnel to complete the missing link.
"They regard the extension to complete the circular connection as an important prerequisite for a balanced development and strengthening of the region," he said.
Construction of a fixed link between Helsingør and Helsingborg has been on the drawing board since the 1930s, but was revived in 1998 when Cowi carried out a feasibility study for a railway tunnel between the two cities; this has been extended to include tunnel options.
