Construction site visit: Günther finds out about the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel

Construction site visit: Günther finds out about the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel

On Friday, January 16, 2026, Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) visited the construction site of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel on the island of Fehmarn. An important 18 kilometer long road and railway connection is being built here between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. With planned completion in 2029, this tunnel will not only significantly reduce traffic congestion, but will also significantly shorten the travel time between Germany and Denmark.

“There’s something going on” – Günther also felt that when he arrived at the construction site at 11:30 a.m. He had previously obtained information about the progress of the hinterland connection from Deutsche Bahn at 10:00 a.m. This connection includes, among other things, the planned Fehmarn Sound Tunnel, which is intended to connect Fehmarn directly with the German mainland. The existing Sound Bridge from the 1960s will be retained. It will continue to be available to pedestrians, cyclists and slow vehicles.

A milestone for traffic

The Fehmarnbel Tunnel will be the longest combined road and rail tunnel in the world and has the potential to replace the busy “Vogelfluglinie” ferry service. In the future, the travel time between Lolland and Fehmarn will be reduced from 45 minutes by ferry to just 10 minutes by car and 7 minutes by train. The electrified high-speed railway will reach speeds of up to 200 km/h, which is expected to significantly boost travel between Germany and Scandinavia.

• Streckenverkürzung:
  – Von Puttgarden nach Rødbyhavn wird die Fahrtzeit auf 2 Stunden und 30 Minuten gesenkt, bisher waren es 4 Stunden und 40 Minuten.
• Kosten:
  – Das Projekt hat ein genehmigtes Baubudget von 52,6 Milliarden DKK (ca. 8,2 Milliarden USD).
• Sicherheitsvorkehrungen:
  – Der Tunnel besteht aus 79 Standardelementen, die aus 217 Metern langen und 10 Metern hohen Konstruktionen bestehen, ergänzt durch zwei Eisenbahnröhren und eine Notröhre.
• Umweltaspekte:
  – Der Tunnel wird als umweltfreundlicher angesehen und hat weniger Auswirkungen auf die Natur. Zudem ist er wetterunabhängig und sorgt so für einen durchgehenden Verkehrsfluss.

Critics of the project have raised concerns regarding its environmental impact, particularly due to increased freight traffic in the area. Furthermore, the costs have seen significant escalation over the years, having risen from an initial estimate of 5.5 billion euros in 2007 to now 7.4 billion euros. Despite these challenges, the Danish government is fully committed to financing the project and the tolls will remain its property after repayment of loans.

Overall, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will not only be an important junction in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), but will also be considered one of the EU's 30 prioritized transport projects. This project will not only provide logistical relief for commuters and holidaymakers, but could also significantly increase transport capacity between Scandinavia and mainland Europe, potentially doubling freight transport.

With construction officially starting on January 1, 2021 and the first tunnel elements scheduled to be sunk in the Fehmarnbelt in 2024, progress is already noticeable. The importance of the tunnel for the region and the entire transport infrastructure cannot be overestimated, and it will be exciting to see how these developments will shape up in the coming years.

For more details you can consult the reports from n-tv, Wikipedia and Wikipedia (DE) read up.