København …In A Day

EA3022 and ME1513, Østerport, 20/03/17 (JW)

I woke up in my own bed in Birmingham, travelled behind 18 mainline diesel locomotives and 1 electric (equating to exactly 50% of a country’s passenger locomotive fleet) and returned to my own bed that same night. All for half the price of your average enthusiast railtour.

København, or Copenhagen, is the capital city of Denmark.  It is very much the engine room of the country, containing approximately a quarter of its entire population, and contains some true architectural gems.

The view from København’s Rundetaarn, 15/02/16 (JW)

The city sits on the west side of the Øresund Strait, which separates Denmark from Sweden.  Since 2000, the two countries have been connected by a fixed link across the Øresund that is in fact part suspension bridge and part tunnel, carrying both a railway and a motorway.  With the journey time by rail between København and the Swedish city of Malmö being just a shade over half an hour, cross-border traffic is heavy.

Aside from via this bridge, Denmark’s only land border is with Germany, although travel between the two countries via this route is time-consuming.  A far quicker way of reaching Germany is via the through train (sadly, formed of a DMU these days) to Hamburg which uses one of the last three passenger-carrying train ferries in Europe: that between Rødby and Puttgarden – however construction of a fixed link replacement is expected to commence in 2019.

Loco Haulage on Passenger Trains

To the UK enthusiast, one of the most attractive aspects of the København railway scene is the intensive loco hauled passenger service that it enjoys, and so this will form the core of this article.  The Danish state railway operator, Danske Statsbaner (DSB), operates two classes of main line locomotive: one diesel (class “ME”) and one electric (class “EA”).

There are currently four MEs painted in the new “helrød” livery – here, two of them (ME1528 and ME1521) sit side by side at Østerport, 20/03/17 (JW)

The MEs were built by Henschel in Germany and entered traffic between 1981 and 1985.  They are six-axle, 175 kph (109 mph), 3,300hp diesel-electrics with 16-cylinder General Motors 645-series power units.  37 were built (numbered ME1501 to ME1537), with 33 remaining in service.  ME1502, ME1507 and ME1510 have all been scrapped, and the doyen ME1501 is in the collection of the Danish railway museum at their facility in Randers.  Their days are now sadly numbered; DSB announced last year that they will be purchasing 26 new electric locomotives with the express aim of replacing the MEs from 2020.  When that sad day comes, it will not only mark the end of the type in DSB service, but also the end of the bond between DSB and GM which dates back to the procurement of the first “MY” class Nohab loco in 1954.

 

ME1522 departs København H, 20/03/17 (JW)

As someone who spent a lot of his formative years travelling on the railways of Ireland, the MEs immediately bring to my mind the sound of the “traditional” big GMs over there.  The booming roar is reminiscent of the 071 Class machines of Iarnrod Eireann and (particularly) their Northern Ireland Railways 111 Class cousins, although the MEs have the 16-cylinder version of the 12-cylinder power units of the Irish machines.  If, like me, you are still mourning the loss of regular passenger work by these fine machines, then a trip to Denmark will be very rewarding indeed!

EA3022 at København H, 20/03/17 (JW)

Built to a largely identical exterior design as the MEs, the EAs are 5,400hp electric locos and appeared on the scene at roughly the same time, to coincide with Denmark’s first main line electrification project.  Initially comprising of a fleet of 22 machines, 16 have been exported (12 to Bulgaria and 4 to Romania) and one has been scrapped, leaving just 5 in service in their home country (EA3004, EA3007, EA3010, EA3020 and EA3022).

 

EA3022 departs Høje Taastrup, 20/03/17 (JW)

Denmark has had a largely multiple unit-operated railway for many years, the remaining loco haulage being concentrated on a small number of routes radiating from the capital on predominantly commuter-based traffic.  There are no longer any hauled overnight services.  The MEs handle most of the services on two lines, that from Østerport to Holbæk and Kalundborg, and that from Østerport to Næstved, Nykøbing and Rødby Færge (see map below).  The remaining EAs see use on the route from Østerport to Slagelse.

All of these services cover the section of line between Østerport and Roskilde, therefore this route sees a very intensive loco-hauled service.  The three easternmost stations – Østerport, Nørreport and København Hovedbanegård (Copenhagen Central, usually shortened to “København H”) – are situated very closely together in the city centre area, with Nørreport being actually underground.  Consequently, this section of line is useful to travel behind a large number of locomotives in a short period of time, should that be your primary area of interest.

ME1529 at København H, 20/03/17 (JW)

However, this would not allow you to experience the machines really being put through their paces.  The “racing stretch” from København through Valby and Høje Taastrup is excellent for this, with the locos’ maximum speeds being taken full advantage of.  However, it’s worth bearing in mind that fuel economy is a key consideration for DSB and, as a result, its drivers do not drive purely in accordance with the linespeed, but also with the guidance of an in-cab computer system that matches a train’s progress to its schedule.

All trains are worked in push-pull mode with the locomotives on the “country” end, and are formed of double-deck Bombardier-built stock of the same type found in Germany, Luxembourg and Israel.  This stock is air-conditioned with no opening windows, however it’s still perfectly possible to hear an ME from inside the train, even two or three coaches away!

DSB double-deck stock interior, 20/03/17 (JW)

Route Map

DSB loco hauled routes, March 2017 (JW)

Before you go

Denmark is not in the Eurozone; it is still using the krone.  The exchange rate at the time of writing (March 2017) is £1.00 = DKK 8.58.  I found it was certainly worth exchanging my money before I travelled (DKK 300 was more than enough for me, in terms of my travel ticket, snacks and drinks) as cash machines do charge you to withdraw money when you’re there.

The official language spoken is (predictably!) Danish.  However – as horrendously “Little Englander” as this sounds – it is not imperative to learn the language to get by.  English is widely spoken and understood, particularly around the capital, and the majority of station signs are in both Danish and English.  However, as with any foreign travel, it doesn’t hurt to learn a few key words of the local language before you travel.

ME1503 at Østerport, 20/03/17 (JW)

Getting there

København is very easily accessible by air from the UK, with flights generally taking approximately 1½-2 hours. My criteria of a “day trip” is that it should not be necessary to book any overnight accommodation, and therefore the only airports that would currently provide an early outward and late return service to København are Heathrow, Luton and Stansted.  However, there are also direct flights from Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle among others.

The routes from the UK are well served by a number of the low cost carriers (chiefly, easyJet and Ryanair) and, perhaps unusually given this, the airport is very close to the city that it pertains to serve!  It takes just 13 minutes on the train from the airport station to København H; trains (all worked by multiple units) depart from platform 2 every 10 minutes or so during the day.  Alternatively, the metro station is upstairs and Nørreport can be reached this way in 15 minutes.

Validity in København

For a day trip, the best ticket to use to travel around is a 24-hour all-zone ticket.  These are rovers which cost DKK 130 (£15.15 as of March 2017) and are valid from the airport into København, out as far as Roskilde on the loco-hauled route, and on the unit-only lines north of the city.  It is also valid on local Metro and bus services in the city area.

The easiest place to purchase them from is from a large bank of red ticket machines immediately outside “Arrivals” at the airport.  These take cash (in the form of notes and coins) and also cards.  They are touch-screen and handily have an “English” option!  It’s literally a 10-second process to get yourself a ticket; you can select the DKK 130 day rover by pressing the buttons on screen as shown below:

 

 

 

Day rovers, easy to purchase! (JW)

Should you wish to travel further out of København than Roskilde, your best bet would still be to purchase one of the rover tickets as above (it works out cheaper than an airport to Roskilde return!) and then rebook from Roskilde, although the price does begin to ramp up – for example, a return from Roskilde to the end of one of the branches at Kalundborg will set you back DKK 200.

If you are lucky enough to be eligible for FIP travel, then one of the boxes on your DSB coupon will cover you on all loco hauled trains mentioned here.  However, FIP is not valid on the trains between the airport and the city, nor on the Metro.

Finances

I mentioned in the introduction to this article that this was a relatively cheap day trip to make, so here are some numbers to back that up.  Flights were booked approximately two weeks prior to travel on the Ryanair website.  I travelled on a Monday in March – flights on weekends and in school holidays do tend to be more expensive.

Outward flight ticket (Ryanair) = £21.00

Rover ticket = £15.15

Return flight ticker (Ryanair) = £13.00

Total = £49.15

I’ve elected to leave petrol, parking and sustenance out of the equation, as these would be costs associated with most days out regardless of destination.  I’m sure you’ll agree that £49.15 compares favourably with a day on a UK railtour!

My Day

A day trip to København can cater for a variety of railway interests, and I would certainly not be presumptuous enough to expect that everyone would wish to approach their day in the same way I might.

ME1518, Ringsted, 01/09/07 (JW)

However, my intention on my most recent trip on Monday 20^th March 2017 was to spend my time purely in search of loco haulage within the boundary of my rover, and I certainly felt I was successful.  In order to give the day some structure, I elected to spend the first half of my time in the city area travelling behind as many different locomotives as possible, and the second half enjoying them at full speed on the “racing stretch” of the main line out of the city.

My total score for the day was 18 different MEs and 1 EA – exactly half of DSB’s 38-strong passenger locomotive fleet – although it’s fair to say that if I’d made my trip on a weekend, these figures would have been significantly lower.  Two more MEs (ME1515 and ME1534) were also seen in traffic on the day.

For interest, my “move” and the loco numbers involved is shown below.  At the time I travelled, DSB’s fleet of “IC4” multiple units had been taken out of traffic, so there were a number of their usual services which were worked by MEs – some of which I travelled on.  However, this did not seem to affect the total number of MEs that were in service.

Luton Airport		0840	EI-EVJ	FR7404 08:40 Luton – København
København Airport	1130
Københavns Lufthavn		1204	EMU	R1351 12:04 Lufthavn – Nivå
Østerport	1228	1234	ME1505	R1549 12:34 Østerport – Kalundborg
Nørreport	1236	1246	ME1503	R4549 12:43 Østerport- Holbæk
København H	1250	1259	EMU	S 12:10 Frederikksund – Klampenborg
Østerport	1305	1314	ME1516	R2553 13:14 Østerport – Holbæk
Nørreport	1318	1321	ME1521	R1532 11:46 Kalundborg – Østerport
Østerport	1325	1334	ME1528	R1553 13:34 Østerport – Kalundborg
Nørreport	1335	1346	ME1511	R4553 13:43 Østerport- Holbæk
København H	1350	1355	ME1529	R2232 11:59 Nykøbing – Østerport
Nørreport	1357	1403	ME1532	R2253 14:00 Østerport – Nykøbing
København H	1407	1418	ME1530	R1536 12:46 Kalundborg – Østerport
Nørreport	1420	1426	ME1533	R1257 14:23 Østerport – Nykøbing
København H	1430	1438	ME1517	R2536 13:35 Holbæk – Østerport
Nørreport	1440	1446	ME1535	R4557 14:43 Østerport – Holbaek
København H	1450	1455	ME1509	R2236 12:59 Nykøbing – Østerport
Nørreport	1457	1503	ME1521	R2257 15:00 Østerport – Nykøbing
København H	1507	1524	ME1513	R1240 13:47 Nykøbing – Østerport
Østerport	1531	1543	ME1503	R4561 15:43 Østerport – Holbæk
København H	1550	1555	ME1518	R2240 13:59 Nykøbing – Østerport
Nørreport	1557	1603	ME1517	R2261 16:00 Østerport – Nykøbing
Høje Taastrup	1625	1633	ME1522	R2244 14:59 Nykøbing – Østerport
København H	1649	1710	ME1518	R2265 17:00 Østerport – Nykøbing
Høje Taastrup	1725	1733	ME1527	R2248 15:59 Nykøbing – Østerport
Valby	1743	1757	ME1503	R4548 17:05 Holbæk – Østerport
København H	1802	1827	ME1530	R2573 18:14 Østerport – Holbæk
Høje Taastrup	1841	1856	EA3022	R4354 18:04 Slagelse – Østerport*
				*via Hvidovre – Ny Ellebjerg – Sydhavn
København H	1913	1918	ME1509	R1556 17:46 Kalundborg – Østerport
Nørreport	1920	1941	ME1537	R2556 18:35 Holbæk – Østerport
Østerport	1945	2000	ME1532	R2277 20:00 Østerport – Rødby
Nørreport	2002	2013	metro	M2 route
Lufthavnen	2028
København Airport		2200	EI-DHA	FR7407 22:00 København – Luton
Luton Airport	2300

 

Note (March 2018): 2018 has not got off to an auspicious start for the class, with the discovery on 26th January of cracks in two ME wheelsets resulting the grounding of all 33 machines and the sending of each axle to the workshop in Aarhus for detailed examination; a process that is taking a long time as there is simply no room for all 198 ME axles to be in Aarhus at the same time.  Currently, most of the fleet remain out of traffic and some of the wheelsets have been found to be write-offs, and Bombardier may not be able to supply new ones until September.  A number of MEs remain in traffic (those which have been examined and signed off as OK), but currently their availability – and consequently the number that are in use each day – is considerably less than the plan requires.  It should be pointed out – although without comment – that the damaged axles found in January are said in various news reports to be from ME 1532, which had failed in some style between Holbæk and Regstrup on 13th September 2017 (with an axle defect) whilst working a passenger train, and was then dumped in Roskilde for some months.