The Copenhagen Metro ( ) is a light rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
First opened in October 2002, the driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with local DSB and regional (Øresundståg) trains and municipal Movia buses. The metro operates 4 lines and 44 stations, 30 of which are underground. The M1 and M2 lines serve western and eastern Amager (including Copenhagen Airport) respectively, sharing a common line between the city centre and Vanløse. The M3 is a wholly underground circular line connecting Copenhagen Central Station with Vesterbro, Frederiksberg, Nørrebro, Østerbro and Indre By. The most recent line, M4, supplements the M3 line and connects it to Nordhavn and Sydhavn, as well as Valby via Copenhagen South. The fifth line, M5, is currently in the planning stages and will serve Refshaleøen as well as the under-construction Lynetteholmen neighbourhood, with the first section expected to open in 2036.
In 2025, the metro carried 135 million passengers. Along with the New York City Subway and Chicago "L", the Copenhagen Metro is one of three rapid transit systems in the world to operate 24/7 throughout their city limits.
Overview The system is owned by Metroselskabet (The Metro Company), which is owned by the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, and the Ministry of Transport. The M1 and M2 use 34 trains of the Hitachi Rail Italy Driverless Metro class and stationed at the Control and Maintenance Center at Vestamager. The trains are wide and three cars long; their power output is supplied by a 750-volt third rail. The metro trains were originally planned to be four cars long, but trains were reduced to three cars per set as a savings measure. Platforms are – although shorter than originally planned – built to accommodate trains with four cars, and the automatic doors can be modified accordingly should the need arise.
Operation of the system is subcontracted to a private company. For the history of service, this has been Metro Service A/S. Trains run continually, twenty-four hours a day, with the headway varying from two to four minutes in daytime, with longer intervals (up to twenty minutes) during the night.
Planning of the Metro started in 1992 as part of the redevelopment plans for Ørestad with construction starting in 1996, and stage 1, from Nørreport to Vestamager and Lergravsparken, opened in 2002. Stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, opened in 2003, followed by stage 3, from Lergravsparken to Lufthavnen, in 2007.
The City Circle Line (Danish: Cityringen) is an entirely underground loop through central Copenhagen and Frederiksberg with 17 stops. It does not share any track with the M1 and M2 lines, but intersect them at Kongens Nytorv and Frederiksberg stations. Before the Cityringen opened, the Metro expected that it would cause its ridership should almost double from its 2016 levels to 116 million annual passengers.
A fourth line, M4, operates as an extension of the M3 to Nordhavn and Sydhavn. The first station opened in Nordhavn in March 2020, and the five-stop, , extension to Sydhavn opened in 2024. The M4 terminates at Copenhagen South Station and serves as another metro connection to the S-train network, regional trains, and long-distance trains on the current lines and the high speed Copenhagen-Ringsted railway. The Copenhagen Metro is expected by Metroselskabet to triple the ridership from its current level of 200,000 per weekday to 600,000 per weekday by 2030.
History
Background
The planning of the metro was spurred by the development of the Ørestad area of Copenhagen. The principle of building a rail transit was passed by the Parliament of Denmark on 24 June 1992, with the Ørestad Act. The responsibility for developing the area, as well as building and operating the metro, was given to the Ørestad Development Corporation, a joint venture between Copenhagen Municipality (45%) and the Ministry of Finance (55%). Initially, three modes were considered: a tramway, a light rail and a rapid transit. In October 1994, the Development Corporation chose a light rapid transit.
The tram solution would have been a street tram, without any major infrastructure investments in the city centre, such as a dedicated right-of-way. Through Ørestad it would have had level crossings, except for a grade-separated crossing with the European Route E20 and the Øresund Line. It would have had a driver and have operated at about a 150-second interval—twice the cycle time of the city's traffic lights. Power would have been provided with overhead wires. Stops were to be located about every at street level. The articulated trams would have been about long and have a capacity for 230 passengers.
The light rail model would have used the same approach as the tram in Ørestad, but would instead have run through a tunnel in the city centre. The tunnel sections would be shorter, but the diameter larger because it would have to accommodate overhead wires. The system would have the same frequency as the tram, but use double trams and would therefore require larger stations. The metro solution was chosen because it combined the highest average speeds, the highest passenger capacity, the lowest visual and noise impact, and the lowest number of accidents. Despite requiring the highest investment, it had the highest net present value.
The decision to build stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, and stage 3, to the airport, was taken by Parliament on 21 December 1994. Stage 2 involved the establishment of the company Frederiksbergbaneselskabet I/S in February 1995, owned 70% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 30% by Frederiksberg Municipality. The third stage would be built by Østamagerbaneselskabet I/S, established in September 1995 and owned 55% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 45% by Copenhagen County. In October 1996, a contract was signed with the Copenhagen Metro Construction Group (COMET) for building the lines (Civil Works), and with Ansaldo STS for delivery of technological systems and trains, and to operate the system the first five years. COMET was a single-purpose consortium composed of Astaldi, Bachy, SAE, Ilbau, NCC Rasmussen & Schiøtz Anlæg and Tarmac Construction.
Construction of lines M1 and M2
Construction started in November 1996, with the moving of underground pipes and wires around the station areas. In August 1997, work started at the depot, and in September, COMET started the first mainline work. In October and November, the two tunnel boring machines (TBM), christened Liva and Betty, were delivered. They started boring each barrel of the tunnel from Islands Brygge in February 1998. The same month, the Public Transport Authority gave the necessary permits to operate a driverless metro. The section between Fasanvej and Frederiksberg is a former S-train line, and was last operated as such on 20 June 1998.
The first section of tunnel was completed in September 1998, and the TBMs moved to Havnegade. By December 1998, work had started on the initial nine stations. Plans for M2 were presented to the public in April 1999, with a debate emerging if the proposed elevated solution was the best. In May, the first trains were delivered, and trial runs began at the depot. In December, the tunnels were completed to Strandlodsvej, and the TBMs were moved to Havnegade, where they started to grind towards Frederiksberg. From 1 January 2000, the S-train service from Solbjerg to Vanløse was terminated, and work commenced to rebuild the section to metro. The last section of tunnel was completed in February 2001.
In March 2001, Copenhagen County Council decided to start construction of stage 3. On 6 November 2001, the first train operated through a tunnel section. On 28 November, laying of tracks along stage 1, and stage 2A from Nørreport to Frederiksberg, was completed. An agreement about financing stage 3 was reached on 12 April. By 22 May, the 18 delivered trains had test-run . The section from Nørreport to Lergravsparken and Vestamager was opened on 19 October 2002. Initially, the system had a 12-minute headway on each of the two services. From 3 December this was reduced to 9 minutes, and from 19 December to 6 minutes. Operation of the system was subcontracted to Ansaldo, who again subcontracted it to Metro Service, a subsidiary of Serco. The contract had a duration of five years, with an option for extension for another three.
Opening of lines M1 and M2
Trial runs on stage 2A began on 24 February 2003 and opened on 29 May. All changes to bus and train schedules in Copenhagen took place on 25 May, but to allow Queen Margrethe II to open the line, the opening needed to be adapted to her calendar. This caused four days without a bus service along the line. Stage 2B, from Frederiksberg to Vanløse, opened on 12 October.
Forum Station was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2005. On 2 December 2005, the final agreement to build the City Circle Line was made between the local and national governments. The price was estimated at 11.5 to 18.3 billion Danish krone (DKK), of which DKK 5.4 billion will be financed though ticket sales, and the remaining from the state and municipalities. In 2006, it was announced that the contract with Ansaldo to operate the metro had been prolonged another three years. However, the subcontract between Ansaldo and Serco was not extended, and the contract was instead given to Azienda Trasporti Milanesi in joint venture with Ansaldo; they took over operations from October 2007. The Ørestad Development Corporation was discontinued in 2007, and the ownership of the metro was transferred to Metroselskabet I/S.
In January 2007, the city council decided that a branch was to be built during construction at Nørrebro, to allow a future branch line from the City Circle Line towards Brønshøj. The first part of this line was intended to be constructed at the same time as the City Circle Line, to avoid a multitude-higher construction cost and long interruptions of operations later. This did not involve a final decision, only an option for future construction. The Herlev/Brønshøj line was ultimately dropped as the City of Copenhagen withdrew its share of the cost of the Nørrebro branch chamber in its 2009 budget, and the state refused to continue the project. Any branch to the Herlev / Brønshøj region would now require a shutdown of the City Circle Line for an extended period of time.
In March 2007, a proposal to establish a station at Valby, where the Carlsberg Group is planning an urban redevelopment, was scrapped. The proposal would have increased construction costs by DKK 900 million and was deemed not economical. The increased cost was, in part, due to an extra TBM being needed to complete the project on time. The City Circle Line was passed by parliament on 1 June 2007, with only the Red–Green Alliance voting in disfavor.
The stage 3 opened on 28 September 2007, from Lergravsparken to the airport. It followed, for the most part, the route of the former Amager Line of the Danish State Railways. With this stage complete, the 34 trains were delivered for use by the M1 and M2. However, the line caused a heated debate, with several locals organized themselves into the Amager Metro Group. The group argued that the line should have been built underground, citing concerns that it would create noise pollution and a physical barrier in Amager. In April 2008, the Copenhagen Metro won the award at MetroRail 2008 for the world's best metro. The jury noted the system's high regularity, safety and passenger satisfaction, as well as the efficient transport to the airport. During 2008, the metro experienced a 16% passenger growth to 44 million passengers per year.
Several parties agreed in September 2008 not to fund a northwest expansion of the metro.