European Railroad Discussion > Vogelfluglinie Train on Ferry - once in a lifetime?

While in Denmark last month, one of the most anticipated parts of the trip for me was a journey across the soon to be outdated Vogelfluglinie, one of the last of a dwindling breed of passenger trains that cross major waterways onboard a ferry. As an enthusiast of both ferries and trains, this was an opportunity not to be missed. It took some planning, though. After the completion of the Great Belt Fixed Link, a combination of bridge and tunnel across the Great Belt, all freight trains between Denmark and Germany - as well as a signficiant number of passenger trains - were diverted to the route, even though it is about 99 miles longer. Only a handfull of trains a day still make the direct connection south across Fehmarn Belt. So we had to be careful to choose the right one.

The days of this unique service are numbered, but they may not be as few as we were previously led to believe. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, a tunnel beneath its namesake waterway, is destined to replace the ferry system just as it did on the Great Belt. The tunnel was initially supposed to be completed in 2021, but it appears that construction hasn't actually started yet. The initial plans were for a four lane car and two track train bridge, but those plans were abandoned in favor of a tunnel, which was deemed safer, and easier to construct. One website I read recently pegged the completion date for 2028. Either way, I was led to understand that all remaining train service is supposed to be removed from the ferry line at the end of 2019. So this may - or may not - have been the only chance we'd have to do this.

Photo 1 - Cutting right to the chase for a second, one of my favorite photos from the journey, our Danish Rail IC3 tucked neatly away in the lower car deck of the ferry, with several busses and trucks on the next row over.

Photo 2 - Our train for the trip was a diesel-powered IC3, a name which unspectacularly designates the model as a three car intercity train. Built in the 1980's by ABB Scandia, the IC3 is a prolific part of the Danish Rail fleet. The trains are powered by four Deutz diesel engines making 1,800hp, and have both first and second class seating.

Photo 3 - Second class seats in the front car of the IC3, which also contains two of the motors. You could hardly tell. The seats also were quite comfortable.

More photos of the journey will follow. 

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/19 13:16 by F7sForever.

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Photo 4 - On our way into Copenhagen from Amsterdam, we flew over a big sign of things to come - the Great Belt Fixed Link. One of the chief complaints about the ferry services is that all passengers must leave the train while it is in the belly of the ferry. This means that overnight services from Sweden and elsewhere to Germany or the Netherlands aren't possible without a hotel stay somewhere in the journey. And this is one area of Europe where train travel isn't as efficient point to point. Our flight from Schipool to Copenhagen was around an hour and a half, compared to a 12 hour train ride. Left to my own devices, I'd probably have taken the train just to take it. But it made more sense for my wife and I to fly. Just this once.

Photo 5 - our train eases up to the platform in Copenhagen Central Station to board.

Photo 6 - Passing one of DSB's troubled IC4 next generation intercity trains. The sets were built by Ansaldo Breda, and, after numerous missed delivery deadlines and cost overruns, have been found to be insufficient to serve as replacements for the 98 IC3 sets. The sets are expensive to maintain, have very low reliability, and are generally quite contentuous. As such, DSB is giving the IC3s a ten year life extension, and the IC4s are likely going to beat them to the scrap yard.

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Photo 7 - Stopped at Rødby, on the Denmark side, for a station stop, and then we would proceed onto the ferry seen in the background.

Photo 8 - Tucked away onboard. The ferries have two decks for vehicles - the lower decks have tracks for trains as well as space for busses and trucks, while the next deck up has car loading space. Above that are two decks for passengers, with a small restaurant, duty free shop, and snack bar. While in the belly of the boat, the train's diesel engines were shut down, and the train was connected to ship power to maintain lights and environmental controls.

Photo 9 - From the upper deck of the ferry, looking back as we depart Rødby and head toward Germany across the Fehmarn Belt.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/19 23:27 by F7sForever.

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Photo 10 - Passing a Denmark-bound ferry. I am unsure if there was a train in the belly of this one or not.

Photo 11 - Reboarding our train to get ready to deboard the ferry.

Photo 12 - There was once a bustling freight terminal on both sides, as evidenced by the overgrown infrastructure on Puttgarden, the German side of the Vogelfluglinie. In addition to the passenger trains, regular freight trains traveled by ferry as well. All freight traffic was diverted over the Great Belt Fixed Link years ago, and the tracks now sit empty, with weeds and trees growing up between and through them. When the tunnel is finally opened, some of that freight traffic will return to the route, but there's little reason to think that it will have cause to stop at either terminal.

While I don't know if trains will continue to move by ferry across the Fehmarn Belt, I was happy to have had the opportunity to experience the Vogelfluglinie for myself at least once.

Thanks for reading!

Jody

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F7sForever Wrote:
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> Photo 10 - Passing a Denmark-bound ferry. I am
> unsure if there was a train in the belly of this
> one or not.
>
> Photo 11 - Reboarding our train to get ready to
> deboard the ferry.
>
> Photo 12 - There was once a bustling freight
> terminal on both sides, as evidenced by the
> overgrown infrastructure on Puttgarden, the German
> side of the Vogelfluglinie. In addition to the
> passenger trains, regular freight trains traveled
> by ferry as well. All freight traffic was diverted
> over the Great Belt Fixed Link years ago, and the
> tracks now sit empty, with weeds and trees growing
> up between and through them. When the tunnel is
> finally opened, some of that freight traffic will
> return to the route, but there's little reason to
> think that it will have cause to stop at either
> terminal.
>
> While I don't know if trains will continue to move
> by ferry across the Fehmarn Belt, I was happy to
> have had the opportunity to experience the
> Vogelfluglinie for myself at least once.
>
> Thanks for reading!
>
> Jody

Thanks for the post -- a good description of the operation, which will indeed come to an end this coming weekend with the annual timetable change. The new timetable has been published and all the trains will be running via the Great Belt -- with a slight reduction in travel time and a major boost in capacity (two DMU rather than one), which is desperately needed.

As a side note, last week it was announced that the Transdev-operated Berlin Night Express Malmö - Berlin will run daily in summer next year, which represents a 50% increase in days of operation. This and the operation across the Strait of Messina will remain the only two passenger train ferry operations in Europe as of next weekend.

That's a great narrative, thanks for sharing it

The last Copenhagen-Hamburg trains via the Rødby-Puttgarten ferry operated on the 14th of December. All Copenhagen-Hamburg trains now run via the Storebælt bridge and Odense. It was sad to see them go and I'm glad that I was able to ride the route a few years ago.