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In pictures: A look at Copenhagen’s new City Ring Metro line

The new City Ring Metro line opened in Copenhagen on Sunday, and passengers in the city were offered the chance to try out the new trains and stations for free.

Published: 30 September 2019 12:12 CEST
In pictures: A look at Copenhagen’s new City Ring Metro line
The entrance to the Metro at City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen). Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

After an official opening ceremony at 3pm, all stations were opened an hour later and residents and visitors in the city headed into the new Metro line.


Both Queen Margrethe and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen gave speeches as part of an opening ceremony at City Hall Square. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

Comprising 17 new stations, 15.5 kilometres long and linking the three ‘bridge neighbourhoods’ (Vesterbro, Nørrebro and Østerbro) with the central station and City Hall Square, the new M3 City Ring Metro line significantly expands the reach of the underground train.


Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix


Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The City Ring is expected to double the number of passengers who use the Metro within its first year of operation, with a total of 122 million journeys expected by the underground rail in 2020.


The Copenhagen public was keen to try out the new transport. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix


Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

It has been described as the biggest construction project in the Danish capital since the time of King Christian IV, who built many of the city's historic buildings and much of the Christianshavn area in the 17th century.


The project has not been without controversy, in particular in relation to its reported use of imported construction workers on wages lower than Danish standards. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The new Metro line took just under 10 years to build at a cost of 25.3 billion kroner (3.4 billion euros).


Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

READ ALSO: Copenhagen's new Metro line is a black spot for phones

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ENVIRONMENT

Copenhagen to miss 2025 zero emissions target

Copenhagen will not reach its longstanding target of becoming CO2 emissions neutral by 2025.

Published: 5 November 2021 15:37 CET
Cyclists on Copenhagen's
Cyclists on Copenhagen's "Lille Langebro" bridge. The Danish capital has admitted to errors in emissions calculations and says it won't be climate neutral in 2025, a long-standing target. Photo by Febiyan on Unsplash

A city councillor told newspaper Jyllands-Posten that the city, which has long stated its aim of becoming the world’s first CO2-neutral capital, would not meet that target as scheduled.

“I won’t need to stand there in 2025 and say ‘hurrah, we’re CO2 neutral’, because I know that CO2 will still be emitted (then),” elected representative Ninna Hedeager Olsen of the Copenhagen Municipality environment section told Jyllands-Posten.

Tourist board Visit Denmark has previously used the emissions goal to market the city, while Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen named the target during the C40 climate summit when it was hosted by Copenhagen in 2019.

But the municipality has included wind energy produced in other municipalities in its calculations on energy sustainability, according to the newspaper report.

This means it effectively still emits CO2 overall.

The company which supplies energy to the city, Hofor, has erected windmills in a number of municipalities outside of Copenhagen. But the electricity produced by these windmills has been used in calculations of CO2 emissions in both Copenhagen and in the municipalities in which the windmills are actually located.

The replication of the energy production in data for different locations can “rightly” be said to be “cheating the scales”, according to Hedeager Olsen.

But that is not the only problem in calculations of the city’s emissions, she also admitted.

“There are loads of things that haven’t been counted,” she said.

The goal to become climate neutral by 2025 was first set by the city in 2012 in a climate plan adopted by the city government.

Copenhagen was the following year awarded the Cities Climate Leadership award for the plan.

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