The M3 line is authorised to carry passengers
The Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority has today given its final approval for the M3 line to run with passengers. The authorisation follows thousands of tests of the driverless trains and the new system. Based on extensive documentation - including the preparation of 1.4 million documents - the authorities have assessed that the basis for a safety authorisation is in order.
The authorities' approval is the final, important milestone in the project, and the authorisation is welcomed by the M3 line's owners:
‘We are finally ready for the opening on Sunday. It will be a historic day. The M3 line will change the everyday lives of Copenhageners forever and pave the way for an even greener capital, where we can easily and quickly meet each other across the M3 line. I hope that many people will join us to celebrate the opening with a big party at Rådhuspladsen,’ says the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen (S)
‘The final, but perhaps most important milestone has now been reached as the capital goes from having a metro line to a metro network. We look forward to celebrating this historic event with lots of Frederiksberg citizens and Copenhageners on Sunday’, says Simon Aggesen (K), Mayor of Frederiksberg.
The safety approval concludes the many years of work to achieve documentation of a driverless system.
Obviously, there are high standards to achieve security clearance and I would like to thank the authorities and the independent assessor for a very professional co-operation. We have now reached the final milestone so we can open the doors to passengers on Sunday.
Facts about the M3 line
- The 17 new metro stations will connect the bridge neighbourhoods with Frederiksberg and the M3 line, while the City Ring will also be expanded with connections to both Nordhavn and Sydhavn.
- Once the M3 line is open, the number of journeys on the Metro is expected to double with approximately 122 million passengers in 2020.
The authorisation is granted as the last thing immediately before opening. It is normal practice that issued approvals and permits contain a number of conditions that must be met before and after the start of passenger operations. The Metroselskabet will of course focus on meeting these conditions, which is why there will be extra staffing at the M3 line stations during the first period, among other things.
Regardless of how well the trial operation of the M3 line has gone, however, irregularities in operations are to be expected in the first months after opening when customers enter the metro system. The test run on the new M4 metro line to Nordhavn, which opens in spring 2020, may also affect the operation of the M3 line. The test run will therefore be organised to take place at night and some weekends.
At the M3 line's station sites and the 17 underground stations, work will also be carried out on repairs, cleaning and troubleshooting right up to the opening - and in some places also after the opening. In addition, work on the new pedestrian tunnels and stairs at Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport, which will create good connections for passengers travelling between the Metro, S-trains and regional trains, will not be completely ready for the opening of the M3 line. However, this does not affect the possibility of changing between Metro and train during the temporary period.