For those who don’t follow TV series with bodies found on international borders, an explanation is due.
Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden, have been linked since 2000 by a huge international bridge across the Oresund, making it possible to live in one and work in the other. The bridge is also the scene of a popular mystery series in which detectives from the two countries have to work together because the body is found right on the border, on, duh, The Bridge.
A similar series was made by British and French TV companies, using the Channel Tunnel.
In the meantime, traffic has continued to rise on the Oresund Bridge, which also carries commuter rail tracks, and commute times have risen. A plan to relieve that by building a tunnel between the two countries, a bit north of Copenhagen as the bridge is south, is now being proposed as the region’s #1 transportation priority by a joint transportation board of the two countries.
The tunnel proposal, to run from Helsingor, Denmark to Helsingborg, Sweden, has been around for a while, but Denmark has not been willing to pay. That’s now changed, and Danes have approved going ahead with the plan. Now that the regional leaders are on board, approval from national governments is next.
Another tunnel is proposed for later on; it would extend the Copenhagen Metro system under the sound to connect with Malmo’s transit. It would also allow high-speed trains to connect the region with Stockholm and Hamburg. The present bridge isn’t suitable for high-speed operation.
Photo: Helsingor to Helsingborg ferries would be replaced by proposed tunnel.
