Kontinentalbanan
Encyclopedia
The Continental Line is a 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) long railway between Malmö
and Trelleborg
in Sweden
. At Trelleborg the railway terminates at a railway ferry quay allowing rail cars to be ferried to Sassnitz
in Germany
. A part of the railway is also part of the line between Malmö and Copenhagen
via the Oresund Bridge
. The first seven kilometers of the line are double track
.
The Berlin Night Express is a direct sleeper train service between Malmö and Berlin
, using the ferry. There are no local passenger trains, since the line is single track and freight traffic requires all of the capacity. Buses are used for local passenger transport, which depart from 300 metre (0.186411820994942 mi) north of the ferry port. The building of the old railway station at the ferry port still stands.
southwards. The line replaced an old railway between Malmö and Trelleborg, the Malmö–Trelleborg Railway, which didn't have good enough standard for the traffic. The ferry traffic service started in 1909, the same year it was nationalized
. It was electrified in 1933. In the 1950s the seven kilometers between Malmö and Lockarp were rebuilt to double track.
Most of the international trains on the railway were foreign, and until the 1970s there were direct trains from Malmö to Moscow
(operated by the Russian Railways
), Hamburg
(operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn
) and Prague
.
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
and Trelleborg
Trelleborg
Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. At Trelleborg the railway terminates at a railway ferry quay allowing rail cars to be ferried to Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. A part of the railway is also part of the line between Malmö and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
via the Oresund Bridge
Oresund Bridge
The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined twin-track railway and dual carriageway bridge-tunnel across the Øresund strait.The bridge connects Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest road and rail bridge in Europe. The Øresund Bridge also connects two major Metropolitan Areas: those of the...
. The first seven kilometers of the line are double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
.
The Berlin Night Express is a direct sleeper train service between Malmö and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, using the ferry. There are no local passenger trains, since the line is single track and freight traffic requires all of the capacity. Buses are used for local passenger transport, which depart from 300 metre (0.186411820994942 mi) north of the ferry port. The building of the old railway station at the ferry port still stands.
History
At first called Malmö-Kontinentens Järnväg, the railway was opened in 1898 and was initially thought of as an extension of Södra StambananSödra stambanan
The Southern Main Line is a long electrified railway between Malmö and Katrineholm in Sweden. The first parts of the line opened in 1856 between Malmö and Lund, and the last parts in 1874. The line entirely consists of double track...
southwards. The line replaced an old railway between Malmö and Trelleborg, the Malmö–Trelleborg Railway, which didn't have good enough standard for the traffic. The ferry traffic service started in 1909, the same year it was nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
. It was electrified in 1933. In the 1950s the seven kilometers between Malmö and Lockarp were rebuilt to double track.
Most of the international trains on the railway were foreign, and until the 1970s there were direct trains from Malmö to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(operated by the Russian Railways
Russian Railways
The Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...
), Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
) and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.