Femern – World’s longest immersed tunnel starts
Short version
Length: 1:53
FEMERN – WORLD’S LONGEST
IMMERSED TUNNEL STARTS
RØDBY
DENMARK
LENGTH: 2.53
PRODUCER: ANDERS KONGSHAUG
DATE: OCTOBER
STORY
The world’s longest immersed tunnel for both trains and cars is right now being constructed connecting the Nordic countries with mainland Europe.
The tunnel is between Denmark and Germany, 18.2 kilometers (11.3 miles). It starts at the little town of Rødby on the Danish island of Lolland and runs on the bottom of the Baltic Sea to Puttgarden on the German island of Fehmarn, that is naming the tunnel. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel.
The Baltic Sea has about 150 ships per day passing. The depth of the Baltic Sea is 40 meters. The tunnel is designed to withstand ship collisions, earthquakes and extreme weather conditions.
The Femernbelt tunnel will feature a two-lane motorway in each direction and two electrified railway tracks. It will take ten minutes to drive from Denmark to Germany in a car and seven minutes by train.
Today it takes 45 min. by boat. Motorists will be able to drive at 110 km/h in the tunnel, while electric trains can travel through the tunnel at 200 km/h.
The construction of Femarn is the largest tunnel constructions in Europe and also among the overall biggest in Europa. Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S are from the local area and has not compared with others, but feels it is very big:
“The size is by far the largest one in Denmark and the northern part of Europe. We are 2000 workers here today and they’ve increased a bit as the next contract will start up their work as well. So it’s a huge, huge construction site.”
The construction is managed and starts from the Danish side, because Denmark is financing most of the construction. The total construction budget is €7.4 billion (approximately $8.7 billion).
These days all the dredging of the tunnel is ready.
The tunnel portal area in Denmark is well underway, and will be ready for the immersion of the first element in 2024.
The tunnel will consist of 79 individual, concrete elements, each 217 meters long, each weighing around 73,500 tonnes. Each element will be lowered into a trench on the seafloor.
The amount of steel used in the tunnel is equivalent to approximately 50 Eiffel Towers.
Later a similar workplace will be made on the German side, which will construct the German part of the portal and roads leading to the portal to the tunnel.
“And that is also what makes the project so special”, expresses Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S. “The amount is so large. The number of people is really high, and that’s what makes it fun.”
Up to 3,000 people will be directly employed in the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. Workers come from all over Europe, primarily Eastern Europe.
The tunnel is expected to be finished in 2029 and then Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S thinks, when it is all over:“All over? I will probably be a bit tired, but also hopefully glad. Hopefully we’ll finalize our work within our time frame and our budget. So hopefully I will be glad and tired.”
A bridge and a tunnel under the bottom was also being investigated, but a tunnel was the most safe and environmental solution.
The transport corridor in Europe is saving 160 km for each car and truck driving between the Northern and European continent.
The Femernbelt tunnel will shorten the travel time between Copenhagen and Hamburg by more than two hours, reducing the travel time from 4.5 hours to 2.5 hours.
END
SHOT
- MAP ANIMATION WITH FEMERN TUNNEL SHOWN
- ANIMATION SHOW BUILDINGS SITES
- ANIMATION GOING THROUGH WATER, DOWN TO THE TUNNEL
- ANIMATION OF TRAIN GOING THROUGH TUNNEL
- ANIMATION OF TRAIN AND CAR POV INSIDE TUNNEL
- ANIMATION OF CARS EXCITING TUNNEL
- ANIMATION OF CARS AND TRUCKS GOING IN AND OUT OF TUNNEL
- PAN ACROSS CONSTRUCTION YARD
- SOUNDBITE Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S cont.:
“The size is by far the largest one in Denmark and the northern part of Europe. We are 2000 workers here today and they’ve increased a bit as the next contract will start up their work as well. So it’s a huge, huge construction site.”
- DRONE OF TUNNEL ENTRANCE
- SOUNDBITE Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S:
“What we see behind us is the portal area on the Danish site. So this is where we will actually entrance our tunnel. So, here you actually see the first part of the portal building. We will build the elements and, and our standard lines or production lines at the factory area. They will be shipped in and connected to the link here, and then it will continue all the way over. And then you will see a similar workplace on the German side, which will be the German part of the portal.”
- ANIMATION SHOW TUNNEL
- ANIMATION OF INSIDE OF FINISHED TUNNEL
- ANIMATION OUTSIDE OF FINISHED TUNNEL
- DRONE CONSTRUCTION YARD
- INSIDE TUNNEL FACTORY
- SOUNDBITE Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S cont.:
“Here we are. And that is also what makes the project so special. The amount is so large. The number of people are really high, and that’s what makes it fun.” - PAN ACROSS CONSTRUCTION SITE
- DRONE ABOVE CONSTRUCTION SITE
- SOUNDBITE Anders Gert Wede, Construction Area Manager at Femern A/S cont.:
“All over I will probably be a bit tired, but also hopefully glad. Hopefully we’ll finalize our work within our time frame and our budget. So hopefully I will be glad and tired.” - DRONE ZOOM OUT FROM CONSTRUCTION SITE
- PAN ACROSS CONSTRUCTION SITE
END
LINKS:
Femern (Femarn in German):
https://femern.com/