Greater Copenhagen Light Rail

Hovedstadens Letbane
Tram at Ishøj Station on opening day
Tram at Ishøj Station on opening day
Overview
OwnerRingby-Letbanesamarbejdet
LocaleMetropolitan Copenhagen
Transit typeLight rail
Number of lines1
Number of stations29
Websitewww.dinletbane.dk
Operation
Began operation26 October 2025 (southern section) 22 August 2026 (northern section)
Operator(s)Metro Service
(owned by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi)[1]
Train length4 cars - 36.9 m (121 ft 3⁄4 in)
Technical
System length28 km (17 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC Overhead lines
Average speed30 km/h (19 mph)
Top speed70 km/h (43 mph)[2]
Map of the route
Greater Copenhagen Light Rail
 Lundtofte
 Rævehøjvej
 Anker Engelunds Vej DTU
 Akademivej DTU
 Fortunbyen
 Lyngby Centrum
 Lyngby
Gammelmosevej
 Buddinge
Gladsaxe Rådhus
 Gladsaxevej
 Gladsaxe Trafikplads
 Dynamovej
 Herlev Hospital
 Herlev Bymidte
 Herlev
Herlev Syd
 Train depot
 Rødovre Nord
 Glostrup Ejby
 Glostrup Nord (Hersted)
 Glostrup Hospital (Rigshospitalet)
 Glostrup
Kirkebjerg
 Brøndbyvester
 Delta Park
 Vallensbæk
Strandhaven
 Ishøj Strand Arken
 Ishøj
[3]

Greater Copenhagen Light Rail (Danish: Hovedstadens Letbane, lit. 'The Capital City's Light Rail') is a light rail system which connects with six S-train lines in Greater Copenhagen, Denmark, parallel to but outside the borders of Copenhagen Municipality. Its first stage is known as the Ring 3 Light Rail, which was finished in 2026, having been under construction since 2018. It runs from Lundtofte, north of Copenhagen to Ishøj station in the southwest, with a projected annual ridership of 13-14 million.[4]

The line is owned by the Ringby-Letbanesamarbejdet (Ring city-Light rail cooperation), which is a collaboration between the municipalities serviced or affected by the line.

Background

Bus from line 300S at Nordre Ringvej. The light rail has now replaced the entire line.

The rapid transit network of greater Copenhagen consists of a metro system serving the city centre, south-eastern suburbs and one western suburb, and a well-developed S-train network consisting of radial lines and one inner ring line relatively close to the city centre. Further from the city centre, transport between the radials consists of bus lines. Since the suburbs along the radials were expected to grow, a better quality public transport solution between them was thought to be needed.[2] Furthermore, some high passenger volume destinations such as the Technical University and two hospitals were not yet directly accessible through rail transit.

Procurement for the project was structured into five civil works packages and three packages covering equipment, operations, and maintenance. In 2018, Danish construction companies MJ Eriksson, Per Aarsleff, and CG Jensen were awarded the civil works contracts, with CG Jensen additionally commissioned to construct the line’s operations control and maintenance centre.[5]

The transport systems contract, covering both railway infrastructure and rolling stock, was awarded to a consortium of Siemens and Aarsleff Rail. Siemens was contracted to deliver a turnkey solution involving electrification, signalling, communications, workshop equipment as well as overall management of the project.[5][6] A 15 year operations and maintenance contract was awarded to Metro Service, a subsidiary of ATM Milano, which also operates the Copenhagen Metro.[7]

The southern section, from Ishøj to Rødovre Nord, with 12 stations, opened on 26 October 2025, while the northern section to Lundtofte, comprising 17 stations, opened on 22 August 2026.[7][8][9]

Ridership is expected to reach 14.7 million passengers per year by 2030.[10]

Services

Trains depart every 5 minutes from both ends, and every 10 minutes on evenings, Sundays and public holidays.[2][10] The trip between the termini will be completed in 58 minutes.[11]

Stations

In total the line has 29 stations, six of which will have a connection to the S-train network.[12]

Municipality Station S-train
connections		 Travel time
Southbound Northbound
Lyngby-Taarbæk Lundtofte 0 58
Rævehøjvej (DTU) 1 57
Anker Engelunds Vej DTU 3 55
Akademivej DTU 5 53
Fortunbyen 7 51
Lyngby Centrum 10 48
Lyngby 11 47
Gladsaxe Gammelmosevej 15 43
Buddinge 17 41
Gladsaxe Rådhus 18 40
Gladsaxevej 20 38
Gladsaxe Trafikplads 21 37
Dynamovej 23 35
Herlev Herlev Hospital 25 33
Herlev Bymidte 27 31
Herlev 28 30
Herlev Syd 30 28
Rødovre Rødovre Nord 31 27
Glostrup Glostrup Ejby 33 25
Glostrup Nord 36 22
Glostrup Hospital 38 20
Glostrup 43 15
Brøndby Kirkebjerg 46 12
Brøndbyvester 48 10
Vallensbæk Delta Park 51 7
Vallensbæk 51 6
Strandhaven 54 4
Ishøj Ishøj Strand 55 3
Ishøj 58 0

Rolling stock

In February 2018, 29 Siemens Avenio 4-car low floor trams (27 base order and 2 options) were ordered. The contract includes options for up to 30 trams and maintenance of the trams for 15 years. The trams are light green, distinguishing them as a new and "eco-friendly" mode of transport. The trams have 6 x 100kW motors and weigh approximately 48 tonnes each. They have a capacity of 258, including 64 seats. The entrance height is 350 mm above the rail. The trams are 36.9 m in length and 2.65 m wide. They are equipped with LCD information screens.[13] They were built at the Siemens factory in Kragujevac, Serbia.[14] They were tested at Siemens' Wegberg-Wildenrath Test and Validation Centre and the depot, where they are maintained, in Glostrup.[10]

The trams have step-free boarding and level-access inside, with 4 areas for bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs.[10]

Financing and ownership

The line is be owned through the Ringby-Light rail cooperation by the Ministry of Transport, Capital Region of Denmark and the municipalities of Lyngby-Taarbæk, Gladsaxe, Herlev, Albertslund (no station;in Glostrup, bordering Albertslund), Rødovre, Glostrup, Brøndby, Hvidovre (no station), Vallensbæk, Ishøj and Høje-Taastrup (no station). The Danish state will contribute 40% to the construction, the municipalities 34% and the Capital Region of Denmark will contribute 26%.[2]

Originally estimated to cost 6.2 billion kr. and later 8.2 billion kr. in 2022, the final cost is expected to be 9.6 billion kr. ($1.48 billion).[7]

Further extensions

Possible extensions beyond the Ring 3 line have been examined in official planning studies. Preparatory material for the Ring 3 project referred to a possible second stage from Park Allé to Brøndby Strand and Avedøre Holme.[15]

In 2013, the Capital Region of Denmark analysed possible light-rail links between Glostrup Station and Copenhagen Airport. The study considered a southern corridor via Avedøre Holme, Ørestad Station and Løjtegårdsvej, a northern corridor via Hvidovre Hospital, Ny Ellebjerg and Bella Center, and a possible first stage of the northern corridor between Glostrup Station and Ny Ellebjerg.[16]

In 2018, a separate study by the Copenhagen Municipality examined a possible light-rail corridor from Nørrebro Station to Gladsaxe Trafikplads via Tingbjerg and Frederikssundsvej, intended to improve links between the M3 City Circle line and the Ring 3 light rail.[17]

In 2021, following a decision by the Regional Council of the Capital Region, Metroselskabet prepared a screening-level analysis of five possible extensions: Lundtofte-Nærum Station, Lundtofte-Gammel Holte, Lundtofte-Kokkedal Station, Gladsaxe Trafikplads-Avedøre Holme, and Glostrup Station-Avedøre Holme.[18] The Glostrup Station-Avedøre Holme option was described as a branch from the Ring 3 line at Kirkebjerg via Park Allé, Brøndby Town Hall, Brøndby Stadium and Brøndby Strand Station to Avedøre Holme.[18] For the northern corridor, the same report noted that a later branch from Hørsholm to Rungsted Kyst Station could be considered, although its economic and ridership effects were not assessed.[18]

The 2021 analysis found that Gladsaxe Trafikplads-Avedøre Holme would generate the largest increase in light-rail boardings, while Lundtofte-Kokkedal Station would have the highest forecast ridership among the northern options.[18]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Metro Service er ejet af italienske ATM".
  2. 1 2 3 4 "L for Letbane". Dinletbane.dk (in Danish). Hovedstadens Letbane. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Linjeføring og stationer". dinletbane.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Letbanen mellem Ishøj og Rødovre Nord åbner den 26. oktober" (in Danish). 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 Bowers, Denis (11 January 2018). "Copenhagen light rail contractors chosen". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "Avenio Copenhagen". Siemens Mobility. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Briginshaw, David (28 October 2025). "Copenhagen opens its first light rail line". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Nu ligger datoen fast: Hovedstadens Letbane åbner i fuld længde den 22. august". dinletbane.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Copenhagen has trams once again as Avenios launch 13.1km lime Tramways & Urban Transit issue 1056 December 2025 page 450
  10. 1 2 3 4 "København tram delivered". Railway Gazette International. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Ring 3 Light Rail, Copenhagen, Denmark". railway-technology.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Beregning af køretider for Hovedstadens Letbane" (PDF). Folketinget. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Avenio Copenhagen, Denmark" (PDF). Siemens Mobility. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "Copenhagen's first Avenio to undergo trials". The International Light Rail Magazine. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Forslag til Lov om letbane på Ring 3". Retsinformation (in Danish). 13 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Analyse af letbane mellem Glostrup og Københavns Lufthavn: Hovedrapport" (PDF). Ramboll (in Danish). Region Hovedstaden. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "Letbane fra Nørrebro St. til Gladsaxe Trafikplads" (PDF). Københavns Kommune (in Danish). 1 June 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Letbane i Region H. Analyse af mulige letbaneudvidelser" (PDF) (in Danish). Metroselskabet. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
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