The tunnel boring machines on the metro construction project in Sydhavn have finally finished drilling after just over a year. Almost 4.5 kilometres of the capital's underground has been transformed into a new metro tunnel, and the five future metro stations are now connected to the M3 line. The final phase of track laying, station preparation and test runs await before the M4 Sydhavn opens its doors to the first passengers in 2024.

‘When the Sydhavn Metro opens in 2024, the capital will be better connected to the rest of Denmark, and the new metro line will ensure a stronger and more robust public transport network. At the same time, we will have a major transport hub at Ny Ellebjerg with easy and fast access to regional trains, S-trains, buses and the Metro. This is a major event in many ways, which is why I'm also proposing that the station be given a new name to mark the fact that it will be one of the busiest stations in the country,’ says Minister of Transport Benny Engelbrecht.

The five new metro stations in Sydhavn will be an extension of the existing M4 metro line, which runs from Orientkaj in Nordhavn across City. When the M4 Sydhavn opens in 2024, the southern part of Copenhagen will be connected to the metro network, and the journey from Ny Ellebjerg to Rådhuspladsen will take just 10 minutes. The new metro line will be 4.5 kilometres long and will carry around 9 million passengers a year.   

‘When the new metro line to Sydhavnen opens, it will mean a huge boost to public transport in our city. Areas along the harbour, at Ny Ellebjerg and not least the classic working-class district at Mozarts Plads will be even better connected to the rest of the city, bringing even more life to these lovely neighbourhoods. And Copenhageners can get all the way from Nordhavn to Sydhavn in just 15 minutes. It's another step towards a greener and more social Copenhagen,’ says Lars Weiss, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen.

The municipalities of Frederiksberg and Copenhagen, together with the Danish state, have secured funding to have Ny Ellebjerg station, which will be the terminus of the M4 Sydhavn, built underground. Both for the design of the station, but also because it will make it possible to extend the Metro further into the metropolitan area from the new transport hub.

‘The Metro is one of the most important contributions to our sustainable and climate-ambitious capital, and with M4 Sydhavn it will be both easier and greener to get around our city. There is always reason to celebrate milestones in the Metro's development, and in Frederiksberg we hope that the Metro network will be even bigger in the future, so there will be many celebratory days like this in the future,’ says Simon Aggesen, Mayor of Frederiksberg.

Like many other construction projects, the M4 Sydhavn metro construction has also been affected by the corona crisis. The project has been running at reduced capacity for periods, but we have managed to keep production going and ensure progress. Together with the contractor, Metroselskabet has, among other things, established its own test facilities at the construction site so that employees have been able to be tested continuously since May 2020.

‘It has been a difficult year, and we have worked hard and persistently to ensure production so that progress did not stop during the pandemic. Among other things, it was decided early on to establish our own test facilities at the M4 Sydhavn construction site. This was done in order to prevent chains of infection and to keep the work going in a responsible way in terms of the working environment and with a focus on the health and safety of employees. It is therefore a great and gratifying milestone that we can now complete the drilling of the tunnel section,’ says Jørn Neergaard Larsen, Chairman of the Metroselskabet Board of Directors.

Since January 2020, the Inge and Olivia tunnel boring machines have been working their way deep underground. With a length of more than 140 metres and a combat weight of almost 800 tonnes, the machines are the largest in the metro construction project. The tunnelling machines are named after two strong Danish women: Inge Lehmann was a geophysicist who discovered the earth's core more than 100 years ago. Olivia Nielsen was a prominent figure in the trade union movement in the 19th century and has had a road named after her in Sydhavn.

The tunnel boring machines drilled from Enghave Brygge to Ny Ellebjerg, where they broke through at the turn of the year. They were then hoisted up and transported back to Enghave Brygge, where they drilled the final stretch of tunnel to the future Havneholmen metro station at Fisketorvet.