A HUGE £4billion (€4.8billion) underwater tunnel will soon connect Scandinavia to Europe. First put forward in 2011, the tunnel will travel between Rødby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany .
Currently connected by a 45-minute ferry crossing , the two European destinations will be linked by an underground train that takes just seven minutes - saving more than 30 minutes on journey times. Part of the transport sector's green transition, the underwater tunnel, dubbed the Fehmarnbelt Link, will have electrified train tracks as well as four lanes for car traffic. Cars will be able to make the 18km journey in just 10 minutes, according to construction company Sund & Bælt.
The Fehmarnbelt Link, which is being placed under the Baltic Sea , will be the longest underwater rail and road tunnel in the world when it opens in 2029. Construction work formally began at the beginning of 2021, with the first stage of its construction being inaugurated by Danish King Frederik X earlier this month. The tunnel is being built by construction firm Sund & Baelt and will consist of 89 concrete elements, which are being made in Roedbyhavn in Denmark .
Later this year, the first section of the underwater tunnel will be submerged into the seabed. According to Ground Engineering , Boss of Sund & Bælt, Mikkel Hemmingsen, said: "Today is visible proof of how far we have come. Just as this project builds on the experience from the Great Belt and Øresund, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel will show the way for.
