The transport system between Scandinavia and Continental Europe is, to a significant extent, dependant on ferry services.
The fixed link across Fehmarnbelt will replace the existing ferry link between Puttgarden and Rødbyhavn. The five ferries currently transport approximately 2 million vehicles per year as well as passenger trains on the Copenhagen-Lübeck-Hamburg line.
Travellers on the section will benefit from a faster and more flexible alternative when dependence on ferry services and waiting times at the ferry port is eliminated. This was also the case following the opening of the Storebælt and Øresund fixed links.
Since 1997, all freight trains between Denmark and Germany have used the Funen-Jutland route via Storebælt. By using the route via Fehmarnbelt rather than the route across Jutland, Funen and Storebælt trains will save 160 km.
Together with the Øresund fixed link between Denmark and Sweden, a fixed Fehmarnbelt link will be an important component in the transport network for rail and road traffic between the Scandinavian countries and Continental Europe.
