The rail transport system in Denmark consists of of railway lines, of which the Copenhagen S-train network, the main line Helsingør-Copenhagen-Padborg (at the German border), and the Lunderskov-Esbjerg line are electrified. Most traffic is passenger trains, although there is considerable transit goods traffic between Sweden and Germany.

Maintenance work on most Danish railway lines is done by Banedanmark, a state-owned company that also allocates tracks for train operators. The majority of passenger trains are operated by DSB, with Arriva and Nordjyske Jernbaner and Midtjyske Jernbaner operating on some lines in Jutland. Goods transport is mainly performed by DB Schenker Rail, although other operators take care of a significant portion of the non-transit traffic.

Denmark is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Denmark is 86.

History

The Kingdom of Denmark's first railway opened between Copenhagen and Roskilde in 1847. The first railway in the Danish Duchy of Schleswig opened between Flensburg and Tønning in 1854.

The first railways in Denmark were built and operated by private companies. The railways in Funen and Jutland were built by Peto and Betts who also supplied the locomotives (built by Canada Works, Birkenhead). Most of the technical staff was also recruited from Britain, notably from the Eastern Counties Railway. When Peto and Betts went into insolvency, the Danish state took over Det danske Jernbane-Driftsselskab (The Danish Railway Operating Company) as of 1 September 1867 under the name De jysk-fyenske Jernbaner (the Funen and Jutland Railways), from 1874 De danske Statsbaner i Jylland og Fyn (The Danish State Railways in Jutland and Funen). The network was extended by new construction and by acquisition of the privately operated lines from Silkeborg to Herning (1 November 1879) and from Grenaa to Randers and Aarhus (1 April 1881).

The Danish state took over Det sjællandske Jernbaneselskab (the Railway Company of Zealand) on 1 January 1880, forming De sjællandske Statsbaner (the State Railways of Zealand). With the majority of railways on both sides of the Great Belt thus owned by the Danish state, it was not until 1 October 1885 that the companies of Jutland/Funen and Zealand merged into one national railway company, De danske Statsbaner (the Danish State Railways), the merger being finalised on 1 April 1893.

Important projects that followed for the Danish rail network include the Great Belt Fixed Link in 1998, the Øresund Bridge in 2000 and the Copenhagen–Ringsted Line (Denmark's first high-speed rail) in 2019.

Network Tracks

Banedanmark is in charge of 2,045 km of railway lines, which do not include the lines controlled by private railways. All Danish railways are (standard gauge), with the exception of a few narrow gauge museum railways; gauge was previously common on branch lines, with being prevalent on industry railways, such as those for transporting sugar beets or even calcium, coal, peat and many other things as well. The narrow gauge lines generally disappeared during the 1950s and 1960s.

The maximum speed allowed on main lines is generally 180 km/h, with less trafficked lines usually allowing between 75 and 120 km/h;For details, see the map at "Kort over jernbanenettet - Maksimal hastighed" , Banedanmark. (PDF file available.) the speed may be lowered in places due to the condition of the track. While wooden sleepers are used on sidings and branch lines, concrete sleepers are the norm on all main lines; the common two-block concrete sleepers are now being phased out in favour of monoblock ones.

The age of the tracks in Banedanmark's network has become increasingly problematic in later years. A 2002/03 analysis of Banestyrelsen's (now Banedanmark) network states that the average age of the track is too high, with a present average age of 24 years compared to the recommended 20 years.See "Analyse af Banestyrelsens sporanlæg - resume" (p. 2), Banestyrelsen. (PDF format.)

Banedanmark also owns the S-train lines, but does not own every railway in the country. It does not own local railways around Hillerød, Zealand (such as the Frederiksværk Line and Gribskov Line) and the East Line, Odsherred Line, Tølløse Line, ( Thy Line, Lemvig Line, Aarhus Letbane Jutland) and Copenhagen Metro.

Electrification General-purpose electric propulsion was adopted quite recently in Denmark; the political decision to electrify the main lines was made in 1979. The first line to be electrified was Copenhagen–Helsingør, electrified in 1986, followed by the main line across Zealand, Funen and Southern Jutland in the 1980s–90s. On the main lines that are equipped with them, the overhead lines carry 25 kV AC at 50 Hz. The system is used on the main line from Sweden through Copenhagen to Fredericia, and from there to Padborg and the German border.For details, see the map at "Kort over jernbanenettet - Strækninger med el-drift" , Banedanmark. (Includes map of the S-train network; PDF file available.) Both Sweden and Germany use 15 kV at 16 Hz and 16.7 Hz respectively, and the multi-system class EG goods locomotive is equipped for both 25 and 15 kV.

The S-train network in Copenhagen operates at 1650 V DC, supplied from overhead lines; it was the first electric network in Denmark, electrified around 1930. The newer Copenhagen Metro uses 750 V DC, supplied from a third rail.

Since there are heavy delays of several years with the construction of the new IC4 diesel multiple units, many commentators argue that it is better to electrify major railways and purchase electric multiple units instead, since that is a more common product. At least the route Fredericia-Ålborg must be electrified in order to run electric passenger trains between Jutland and Copenhagen. The route between Kolding-Esbjerg was due to be to open for electric trains in 2015. The government has in 2009 decided to delay all electrification for several years until the new signal system ERTMS is introduced, since electrification earlier than that requires rebuilding of the existing signal system.

In September 2013 the government reached a deal with the Danish People's Party and the Red-Green Alliance (Denmark) to use additional oil taxes to create a train fund. This train fund would be used to electrify all of the main line trains by 2025, and increase train speeds to for InterCity trains. This would allow for travel between the cities of Copenhagen, Odense, Esbjerg, Aarhus, and Aalborg in four hours.High-speed electric trains by 2025 cphpost.dk, accessed 5 January 2019

On 29 May 2015 Banedanmark announced a 2.8 billion DKK (€375 million) contract to have Aarsleff-Siemens electrify 1300 km of tracks before 2026.Kontrakt om elektrificering af den danske jernbane på plads (Contract for electrification of the Danish railway in place) (archived) originally at bane.dk, accessed 5 January 2019

Danish State Railways received a €500 million loan in 2022 from the EIB to purchase 100 new electric trains, to replace diesel-powered trains for more sustainable passenger traffic. The Coradia Stream train sets are to be delivered from 2025.

Safety and signalling

S-train HKT, which was introduced in 1975 and utilised cab signalling, was used on the S-train network, although a simplified version, "forenklet HKT" (F-HKT), was used on some of the lines.For details, see the map at "Kort over jernbanenettet - HKT togkontrol" , Banedanmark. (PDF file available.)

The S-train network was to be refitted with the CBTC system, which allows driverless trains, by 2020. The migration to CBTC was completed by 2022.

Main lines Main lines were equipped with the ATC safety system during the 1990s, with a partial, cheaper implementation, ATC train stop, being used on some (but not all) branch lines.

Denmark has its own ATC system (ZUB 123), not compatible with other countries. It is a modification of the Swiss system. Trains crossing the border to Sweden or Germany have to have two ATC systems, and handle two electrical supply systems.

In order to replace the different and aging signal systems, it has been decided to replace all current signal systems on Banedanmark's active network, except the S-train lines, with ERTMS level 2, relying entirely on cab signalling; general rollout is scheduled for 2018–21.

In October 2023, the migration to ERTMS was scheduled to complete by 2030.

Safety record Serious incidents on Denmark's railways have been rare. The seven most serious are:

1897: The Gentofte train crash. A delayed local train was hit by a special train. 40 were killed and 132 were injured in the accident. 1913: The Bramminge train accident. An express train became derailed near Bramming. 15 were killed, including Peter Sabroe, and 54 injured. 1919: The Vigerslev train crash. An express train from Korsør drove violently into five wagons at Vigerslev. The train was stationary due to an emergency application of the brakes and reversing to retrieve a child who had fallen onto the rails. 40 died and 30 were severely injured. 1967: The . An express train hit another outside Odense. 11 people died while 47 were injured in the accident. 1988: The 1988 Sorø derailment. A train ran off the rails at high speed at Sorø. Eight people died and 72 were injured. 2019: The Great Belt Bridge rail accident. A passenger train collided with a semi-trailer from a passing freight train. Eight people died and 16 were injured. 2025: The . A passenger train collided with a slurry tanker at a level crossing. One person died and 20 were injured.

Operations

Urban rail transport

Urban rail transport in Denmark currently consists of one metro system in Copenhagen, two light rail systems in Aarhus and Odense and two commuter rail systems, the S-Train in Copenhagen and the Aalborg Commuter Rail. The three largest cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense had tram networks in the 19th and 20th century, with the last tram line in Copenhagen being closed in 1972 when trams were replaced by buses and private cars, because they were considered an outdated form of transportation. the Greater Copenhagen Light Rail are the third light rail system in Denmark after Aarhus in 2017 and Odense in 2022 and is currently under construction and is expected to open in 2025.

A rapid transit proposed for the Øresund metropolitan area, the Øresund Metro is also under discussion.

Copenhagen Metro

The Copenhagen Metro is an automated, 24-hour rapid transit system which serves Denmark's capital city, Copenhagen. It began operation in 2002. It is also the only rapid transit system in Denmark. As of March 2020, the system consists of four lines: M1, M2, M3 and M4. 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 is an entirely underground 15.5 km 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. With the City loop opened, the Metro expects that its ridership should almost double from its 2016 levels to 116 million annual passengers.