Small But Perfectly Formed
Fully automatic from day 1, with no driver and platform doors ...
... Copenhagen's underground system (Metro) is a relatively new apparition under and above the streets of the city.
The political and financial history of the system is long, complex and fraught with heated debate. Suffice it to say that the original cunning plan was for a network of street level trams. This progressed well until locals realised that it would disrupt the city massively in the construction phase and, once operational, would be an intrusion into the historic areas, a pain in the accelerator for motorists and a spreader of death fear for the city's thousands of cyclists.
So plan B was for an underground system.
Even then there was controversy as many wanted the whole thing to be underground, whilst common sense and and the need for financial prudence would take the trains into the fresh air where such construction was easy.
The net result is the network you see below.
Lines M1 (GREEN) and M2 (YELLOW) were opened in stages in 2002 and 2003 using sections of heavy rail line where practicable. The southern sections are mainly on viaduct in the open air ...
... coming up to breathe quite close to the city centre. Here is M1 courtesy of Google earth ...
... coming up to breathe before running to its terminus ...
... where a sharp U turn takes stock to the depot.
Similarly, M2 appears from the depths and runs in a deep cutting ...
... the Metro shares stops with the S-bane before veering off on its own trajectory to get to the central train station.
Most of this western arm is above ground.
... before climbing on to its viaduct to terminate at the airport.
The Metro did not reach the Airport until 2007!
This section used an existing heavy rail line to its new terminus on the northern edge of the airport.
In the west ...
The M3 line (RED) is completely underground. The service began in 2019 ...
... with a short branch to the north which was to become line M4 (BLUE) opening a year later. Orientkaj, the final station on the northern M4 in a developing former docklands area, is the only station that is above ground.
There are proposals to extend M4 further into the area as redevelopment progresses. But even this is the subject of further debate of unknown temperature. Will it just be a couple of stops further ...
The (current) southern section opened last year.
Next, but still very much in the planning stage, is M5 (PURPLE). To understand this, and to get some geographical context, we need to go to the entrance to the huge Copenhagen Harbour.
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... was built from 1787, replacing an earlier, less structured structure dating from 1717.
So the idea is to reclaim a great slab of land beyond the fort as shown here ...
... spot the fort! Apparently the land grab is to "protect the city against rising sea levels", although quite how adding an extra urban extension can stop the sea rising is unclear! On a more positive front the coastal lands are to be developed as "a glorious beach and foreshore" area.
A cynical fbb suspects that one motive for the extension is to provide port facilities for the bigger and even bigger cargo vessels so vital for international trade.
Be that as it may, there has been a presentation ..
... showing M5 running in to the new reclaimed land which is sweetly named Lynetteholm.
There's lovely.
Plans suggest delivery in 2036, but, as new land isn't built up yet, that date seems highly speculative.
Even more speculative is a Metro line in tunnel across the sea to Malmo in Sweden.
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This is to relieve pressure on the Oresund Bridge which opened in year 2000 and is already getting full up!
Time will tell how both projects progress, but the M5 line looks the more likely of the two eventually!
For the time being the best views are from the front with no boring driver and cab obscuring the view.
Tomorrow, buses and trams.
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Fireworks Part 2 answers.
7 : Guide
8. Warm
9. Protect
10. Strength
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Next Copenhagen blog : Friday 7 Nov
