Øresundståg
Oresundtrain or Øresundståg (Swedish: Öresundståg, Template:Lang-da) is a regional rail (in Denmark outer suburban rail) network serving the Oresund Region. The train consists of multiple units manufactured by Bombardier Transportation in Kalmar, previously known as Kalmar Verkstad. They run at 20 minute intervals between Elsinore, Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in southern Sweden, once per hour during the night. From Malmö some Oresundtrains continue to Gothenburg, Kalmar and Karlskrona. This schedule is augmented by a weekday service between Nivå and Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup with some services continuing across the Øresund to Malmö Syd Svågertorp in Sweden, effectively giving a 10-minute frequency on the route between southern Malmö and Copenhagen Central Station and even more frequent service between Helsingør and Copenhagen.
Usage
Most of the trains on the Oresundtrain network are operated by DSBFirst, a joint operation between DSB and First Group, but a few are operated by DSB on the inter-city line to Ystad, where they connect to the high-speed ferry to Bornholm. This connection (train + ferry) is considered a DSB inter-city service for ticketing purposes. The travel time to Bornholm has been cut in half (3 hours vs 6 hours previously) since the opening of the Oresund bridge and the introduction of a high-speed ferry, thus becoming more competitive against air travel (35min flying time plus 30 min check-in time). The Oresundtrain units are also used on some regional pågatågen services Malmö-Helsingborg.
Rolling stock
The trains used are the third and latest generation of the IC3 family of multiple units, specifically designed for use in regional traffic in areas connected by the Oresund Railway. They are electrically powered, and can run on both the Danish power supply (25 kV, 50 Hz) and the Swedish power supply (15 kV, 16 2/3 Hz). Named Contessa by its manufacturer Bombardier,[1] they are designated Litra ET in Denmark and Littera X31K in Sweden. The chassis is manufactured entirely of stainless steel, painted in a light shade of gray. Roughly half of the trains are owned by DSB and the other half by SJ AB.
Each trainset is 79 metres in length and weighs about 157 metric tons. The trainset consists of three carriages, giving a weight of about 52 metric tons per unit. Eight of the train's 12 axles are powered, which gives good acceleration. The train's top speed is 180 km/h. Each train costs 67 million Swedish kronor (2006), equivalent to 22 million kronor per unit.
The train has a total of 196 seats (65 per carriage unit), of which some are in a low floor carriage in the middle.
Traffic
On the Danish side the trains stop often, about every 4 km, like a commuter train. On the Swedish side the trains stop much less often, more like an inter-city trains, and they reach stations about 300 km from Copenhagen, like Gothenburg, Kalmar and Karlskrona.
Over the Oresund bridge the trains run three times per hour per direction, with up to three sets coupled together, creating 237 metre long trains with 588 seats, providing a capacity of 1764 seats per hour. Increasingly this has shown not to be enough, and people have to stand during rush hours (into Copenhagen in the morning and to Malmö in the afternoon). The differences in salaries and house prices between Copenhagen and Malmö create interest in cross-border commuting. The trains can't be lengthened because of platform length constraints, and they can not run more frequently because of limited Malmö C station capacity. Two new underground station in the Citytunneln are supposed to solve this.
Operators
Passengers can encounter both Danish and Swedish DSBFirst staff on the trains over the Öresund Bridge. Tickets can be bought from either country and are valid on all trains.
Competitors
Between Gothenburg and Copenhagen (but not to Helsingor), the SJ AB operates competing trains. From 2009 they have different tickets compared to the Oresundtrain services. SJ runs X2000 trains via Hassleholm, and from 2009 intercity trains using type X31 via Helsingborg. The X31 train type is often called "Oresundtrain" which is a source of confusion.
Line chart and stations
|} The line numbers are the one used by SJ. They are not used by any Danish operator.
Future
Today trains run three times per hour over the Oresund Bridge, which in the future will probably be increased to four times per hour. The Malmö terminal station is a bottleneck.
When the City Tunnel in Malmö is finished in 2011 the Oresundtrain will no longer run on the Kontinentalbanan. It will not have to reverse at Malmö central station, thus decreasing stop time from 10 to 2 minutes. It also decreases transit time to south central Malmö, as a new station is being built there.
It is currently disputed at what stations in Sweden the Oresundtrain will stop in the future. On the Danish side the Oresundtrain has a strong regional appeal, and likewise the trains have become very popular amongst both short and long distance commuters. To handle the larger number of passengers, new train sets have been purchased.
On 27 June, 2007 it was decided that DSBFirst is to assume responsibility for running all Oresundtrains on the Oresund Railway and connected destinations from 2009. On 11 January, 2009 DSBFirst started operations.
References
- ^ "Contessa Electric Multiple Unit - Denmark and Sweden". Retrieved 2008-07-30.
External links
