In this video you will see scenes from rail ferry traffic between Puttgarden and Rødby: trains entering and leaving the ferry boats, views from a ferry transit, and a ride on board of an IC3 train onto the ferry and out again. The video ends with some scenes of a train ride from Puttgarden to Oldenburg in Holstein.
In December 2019 a new timetable comes up, and no more trains will cross Fehmarnbelt by ferry boat. So long distance train traffic will end on Vogelfluglinie. That's the name of the railway line from Hamburg to Copenhagen via the isle of Fehmarn. It means "bird migration line" - birds fly along this line as it is a rather direct connection. The line was opened in 1963, when the bridge across Fehmarnsund had been finished.
At first, locomotive-hauled passenger trains were used here. There was also a lot of freight traffic, all being transported between Germany and Denmark by ferry boats. The locomotives were decoubled at the ferry terminus, only wagons went onto the boats.
In 1997 the fixed link across the Great Belt (Storebælt) was opened. From then on all freight trains use the railway line via Jylland: from Hamburg via Flensburg/Padborg, Fredericia and Odense to Copenhagen, and vice versa. This line is electrified, Vogelfluglinie isn't.
Starting in the 1990es, Danish DMUs of class MF (IC3) are used for EuroCity traffic between Hamburg and Copenhagen. From 2007 till 2017 Diesel-powered ICE units (ICE-TD, class 605) were also running on this line. Tracks on the ferry boats are long enough for either one unit ICE-TD or two MF units. 2 MF units, however, can carry more passengers - this meant the end for class 605 on Vogelfluglinie.
Now, in December 2019, the era of class MF DMUs on Vogelfluglinie is about to end. Between Rødby and Puttgarden a fixed link shall be built. There are plans for a combined road and rail tunnel under Fehmarnbelt. In Denmark work has begun to increase the capacity of the railway line leading to Rødby. To facilitate construction works, the EuroCity are no longer routed via Rødby.
Starting with December 2019, EC trains as well are going to use the route via Jylland. For passengers between Hamburg and Copenhagen the journey will be approx 15 minutes longer, according to the new schedule.We'll see if this is going to be true - on Vogelfluglinie trains have also been delayed sometimes. But in Germany the region of Eastern Holstein and the isle of Fehmarn will lose their connection to the long distance train network. Everyday connections will only be provided by regional express (RE) trains. Some InterCity (IC) trains come to Burg auf Fehmarn, but typically not every day of the week or only part of the year. Up to now, there is no substitution for the EC train service.