Ringbanen
Encyclopedia
Ringbanen is an S-train
line in Copenhagen
. It runs roughly semicircularly (because a full circle is not possible, Copenhagen being a seaside city) around the central part of Copenhagen and connects the S-train radials about 5 km out.
and run from 5:30 to 0:50. In the period between about 7.00 and 19.00 on Monday to Friday, there is one stopping train every 5 minutes. Outside this period, there is one stopping train every 10 minutes.
(via Frederiksberg
) and Hellerup
(via Nørrebro, not the current station but where Nørrebroparken is now). A connecting line directly from Nørrebro to Frederiksberg was used by transiting freight, in order to relieve the central station which had been pushing its capacity limit for decades. Apart from capacity problem, the lines through Frederiksberg and Nørrebro had many level crossings, to the increasing irritation of motorists as their number and the number and trains both grew.
These problems were solved for passenger trains by the new (current) central station
opened in 1911 and its underground connection to Østerport
was finished in 1921 (after delays due to World War I
). The new station and its approaches let trains reach the station from north or west without any level crossings at all, and the new station was so voluminous that it did not begin to have capacity trouble until about 1990.
A new large central freight yard south of the current central station had been opened in 1901, but to reach it, freight trains from the north still had to use the old lines Hellerup-Nørrebro-Frederiksberg-Vigerslev to get to the freight yard's approaches. Instead of trying to separate the old line from road traffic it was decided to build an all new grade-separated freight bypass a bit farther out from the city, which is what eventually became today's Ringbane.
The new freight bypass opened in 1930. It diverged from the old Hellerup line at the large shunting yard Lersøen between the present Ryparken
and Bispebjerg
stations, and at Vigerslev (present-day Danshøj
) joined the approaches to the freight yard. At Flintholm there were connecting curves from north and south towards Frederiksberg (which in those days was an important freight destination), and at Vigerslev a double-track triangle junction allowed trains going to the freight yard or directly towards Roskilde.,
Initially the only passenger station was Lyngbyvej (now Ryparken
), Nørrebro
(500 m NW of its old position) and Godthåbsvej (now Grøndal
). Here the modest passenger service between Frederiksberg and Hellerup called; the trains went directly from Frederiksberg to Godthåbsvej through the connecting curve at Flintholm. Flintholm itself had no passenger service until much later, and there was no passenger service south of Flintholm.
While the freight bypass was being built, plans to move some of the local trains around Copenhagen to electric operations were being laid. The independent municipality of Frederiksberg
succeeded in getting the first electric trains to be the line to Frederiksberg, in part because it had contributed financially to the freight bypass and not gotten much passenger service out of it, in part by referring to promises made to when Frederiksberg lost mainline rail service in 1911 when the central station moved. In order to connect the new electric trains to the Frederikssund line
it was decided that trains would stop (and reverse) at Vanløse between Frederiksberg and Godthåbsvej. A third connecting curve at Flintholm was built to allow direct running from Vanløse towards Hellerup, and the first S-train service began in 1934 with the route
In 1936 Fuglebakken station
between Godthåbsvej and Nørrebro opened, and around 1940 Vanløse station was rebuilt completely as part of the electrification of the Frederikssund line
, but this did not significantly affect operations on the Frederiksberg line.
Not much changed for the next 45 years. Ryparken station
was rebuilt in connection with the Hareskovbanen
reconstruction in the mid-1970s. In 1986 the two new stations Solbjerg
(now Fasanvej) and Lindevang
between Frederiksberg and Vanløse were opened. About this time rail freight to and from points north of Hellerup dwindled to almost nothing as the DanLink plan moved the rail ferries carrying freight to/from Sweden from Helsingør to Østerport
. But the freight line out of Østerport led to Lersøen, so most of the ring line still had active freight traffic.
The 1990s, however, saw fundamental change. The decision to build the Øresund bridge meant that freight would soon be absent on the entire freight bypass. At the same time policial determination to use revenue from Ørestad
land sales to finance the Copenhagen Metro
was building. It was decided to let the Frederiksberg-Vanløse line become part of the metro and to extend the S-trains from Hellerup along the now unused freight line south of Flintholm.
The Frederiksberg-Vanløse line closed a bit at a time between 1995 and 2001 and reopened as a metro line in 2003. The entire line from Vanløse to Hellerup was closed for a complete track rebuilding for most of 2001 and reopened in early 2002, though only from a temporary terminus north of Flintholm, where all of the connecting curves had been removed. In 2004 the new large interchange station at Flintholm
opened, and from early 2005 the ring line trains could run almost all the way to Ny Ellebjerg
. From Flintholm to Vigerslev Allé
the ring line tracks occupy the same space as the old freight bypass; between Vigerslev Allé and Ny Ellebjerg new tracks have been built beside the freight tracks which are still in use for freight to and from the Øresund bridge, bypassing the central station.
The southern terminus at Ny Ellebjerg
opened quietly on November 16, 2006, a few months in advance of the official opening on January 6, 2007. Originally it had been planned that there would be platforms at the Øresund bypass tracks in addition to the S-train platforms, but before construction started, passenger service on these tracks was withdrawn. It is still possible that regional/intercity passenger service will eventually come to Ny Ellebjerg as part of plans to increase long-distance capacity in and out of København H
.
S-Train
The S-train network is a combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network of Metropolitan Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the city center with the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, and has close to half of the stations within the urban city. The first line was opened in 1934...
line in 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...
. It runs roughly semicircularly (because a full circle is not possible, Copenhagen being a seaside city) around the central part of Copenhagen and connects the S-train radials about 5 km out.
Stations
| Name | Services | Opened | S-trains | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ny Ellebjerg Ny Ellebjerg station Ny Ellebjerg station is a station on the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Køge radial and the ring line.... |
F | November 16, 2006 | transfer to Køge radial Køgebugtbanen Køgebugtbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen; it connects the city center to communities along Køge Bugt and terminates in the city of Køge about 35 km southwest of central Copenhagen.- Stations :... |
|
| Gl. Køge Landevej | — | January 8, 2005 | Temporary terminus; closed when Ny Ellebjerg opened | |
| Vigerslev Allé Vigerslev Allé station Vigerslev Allé station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark servicing the ring line.... |
F | January 8, 2005 | ||
| Danshøj Danshøj station Danshøj station is an S-train station on Vestbanen and Ringbanen in Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened on 8 January 2005, it serves mainly as an interchange station between B and F.... |
F | January 8, 2005 | Transfer to Tåstrup radial Vestbanen (S-tog) One of the six S-train radial lines in Copenhagen runs along the long-distance tracks on Vestbanen and provides local train service on its inner parts. The S-trains end at Høje Taastrup about 20 km west of the city center.-Stations:-Service patterns:The principal service is B which stops at... |
|
| Ålholm Ålholm station Ålholm station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark serviced by the ring line.... |
F | January 8, 2005 | ||
| KB Hallen KB Hallen station KB Hallen station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark serviced by the ring line.... |
F | January 8, 2005 | ||
| Flintholm Flintholm station Flintholm Station is an important S-train and Metro interchange station in Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened on 24 January 2004, it is located in the west of Copenhagen where the Frederikssund S-train Line crosses the S-train Ring Line. It is located in fare zone 2.... |
F | January 24, 2004 | Transfer to Frederikssund radial Frederikssundbanen Frederikssundbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen; it connects the city center with a number of Northwestern suburbs and other townships until Frederikssund on the Western coast of the Nordsjælland peninsula.... and metro Copenhagen Metro Copenhagen Metro is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and... |
|
| C.F. Richs Vej | — | February 2, 2002 | Temporary terminus, closed January 23, 2004 | |
| Grøndal Grøndal station Grøndal station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark served by the ring line.... |
F | May 15, 1930 | April 3, 1934 | Named Godthåbsvej until September 29, 1996 |
| Fuglebakken Fuglebakken station Fuglebakken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by the ring line.... |
F | May 15, 1936 | ||
| Nørrebro Nørrebro station Nørrebro station is a station on the S-train’s Ring line in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves the outer end of the Nørrebro district. The planned City Circle Line would see underground trains of the Copenhagen Metro begin serving the station as well.... |
F | May 15, 1930 | April 3, 1934 | Bus terminal; cross-link express bus 350S |
| Bispebjerg Bispebjerg station Bispebjerg station is a station on the S-train ring line in Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the boundary between the Nørrebro and Bispebjerg district, it serves parts of each.... |
F | June 29, 1996 | ||
| Ryparken Ryparken station Ryparken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Ring line and Farum radial. It is serviced by the A, F, and H. The station was originally named Lyngbyvej Station it was renamed in 1972 to Ryparken Station.... |
F | February 1, 1926 | April 3, 1934 | Transfer to Farum radial Hareskovbanen Hareskovbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It connects the city center to a number of northwestern suburbs and the cities of Værløse and Farum, with the terminus placed in the latter.-Stations:... ; named Lyngbyvej until October 1, 1972; bus terminal; cross-link express bus 150S |
| Hellerup Hellerup Station Hellerup Station is a railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, serviced by S-trains on the B, C, E, and F services, and by Kystbanen regional trains. The station was designed by V.C.H. Wolf and opened on 22 July 1863, simultaneous with the start of service on the Klampenborg line.... |
F | July 22, 1863 | April 3, 1934 | Transfer to Hillerød Nordbanen Nordbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It connects Copenhagen with the city of Hillerød, and with several northern suburbs.-Stations:-Service patterns:... and Klampenborg Klampenborgbanen Klampenborgbanen is the shortest of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It runs parallel to the Kystbanen regional line from central Copenhagen until Klampenborg, and serves residential neighbourhoods in eastern Gentofte as well as popular recreational destinations at Klampenborg such as... radials |
Service pattern
Trains on the ring line carry service designator F (S-train)F (S-train)
F is the service designation for trains on the ring line of Copenhagen's S-train network. It runs from about 05:00 to 01:00 from Ny Ellebjerg to Hellerup...
and run from 5:30 to 0:50. In the period between about 7.00 and 19.00 on Monday to Friday, there is one stopping train every 5 minutes. Outside this period, there is one stopping train every 10 minutes.
History
The ring line started as a freight bypass railway. In 1900 Copenhagen had a central station situated just inside Skt Jørgens Sø, from which railways went towards RoskildeRoskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
(via Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg station
Frederiksberg Station is a rapid transit station opened in 2003 on the Copenhagen Metro in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It serves the M1 and M2 lines and connects with bus services. It is located in fare zones 1 and 2...
) and Hellerup
Hellerup Station
Hellerup Station is a railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, serviced by S-trains on the B, C, E, and F services, and by Kystbanen regional trains. The station was designed by V.C.H. Wolf and opened on 22 July 1863, simultaneous with the start of service on the Klampenborg line....
(via Nørrebro, not the current station but where Nørrebroparken is now). A connecting line directly from Nørrebro to Frederiksberg was used by transiting freight, in order to relieve the central station which had been pushing its capacity limit for decades. Apart from capacity problem, the lines through Frederiksberg and Nørrebro had many level crossings, to the increasing irritation of motorists as their number and the number and trains both grew.
These problems were solved for passenger trains by the new (current) central station
København H
Copenhagen Central Station is the largest train station in Denmark, located in Copenhagen, with entrances to Bernstorffsgade , Banegårdspladsen, Reventlowsgade and access to platforms from Tietgensgade...
opened in 1911 and its underground connection to Østerport
Østerport station
Østerport station is a railway station in Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by most S-trains, Kystbanen and other regional trains, as well as some InterCity trains.The station is used by approximately 30,000 passengers each day.-History:...
was finished in 1921 (after delays due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
). The new station and its approaches let trains reach the station from north or west without any level crossings at all, and the new station was so voluminous that it did not begin to have capacity trouble until about 1990.
A new large central freight yard south of the current central station had been opened in 1901, but to reach it, freight trains from the north still had to use the old lines Hellerup-Nørrebro-Frederiksberg-Vigerslev to get to the freight yard's approaches. Instead of trying to separate the old line from road traffic it was decided to build an all new grade-separated freight bypass a bit farther out from the city, which is what eventually became today's Ringbane.
The new freight bypass opened in 1930. It diverged from the old Hellerup line at the large shunting yard Lersøen between the present Ryparken
Ryparken station
Ryparken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Ring line and Farum radial. It is serviced by the A, F, and H. The station was originally named Lyngbyvej Station it was renamed in 1972 to Ryparken Station....
and Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg station
Bispebjerg station is a station on the S-train ring line in Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the boundary between the Nørrebro and Bispebjerg district, it serves parts of each....
stations, and at Vigerslev (present-day Danshøj
Danshøj station
Danshøj station is an S-train station on Vestbanen and Ringbanen in Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened on 8 January 2005, it serves mainly as an interchange station between B and F....
) joined the approaches to the freight yard. At Flintholm there were connecting curves from north and south towards Frederiksberg (which in those days was an important freight destination), and at Vigerslev a double-track triangle junction allowed trains going to the freight yard or directly towards Roskilde.,
Initially the only passenger station was Lyngbyvej (now Ryparken
Ryparken station
Ryparken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Ring line and Farum radial. It is serviced by the A, F, and H. The station was originally named Lyngbyvej Station it was renamed in 1972 to Ryparken Station....
), Nørrebro
Nørrebro station
Nørrebro station is a station on the S-train’s Ring line in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves the outer end of the Nørrebro district. The planned City Circle Line would see underground trains of the Copenhagen Metro begin serving the station as well....
(500 m NW of its old position) and Godthåbsvej (now Grøndal
Grøndal station
Grøndal station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark served by the ring line....
). Here the modest passenger service between Frederiksberg and Hellerup called; the trains went directly from Frederiksberg to Godthåbsvej through the connecting curve at Flintholm. Flintholm itself had no passenger service until much later, and there was no passenger service south of Flintholm.
While the freight bypass was being built, plans to move some of the local trains around Copenhagen to electric operations were being laid. The independent municipality of Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It surrounded by the city of Copenhagen. The municipality, co-extensive with its seat, covers an area of and has a total population of 98,782 making it the smallest municipality in Denmark area-wise, the fifth most...
succeeded in getting the first electric trains to be the line to Frederiksberg, in part because it had contributed financially to the freight bypass and not gotten much passenger service out of it, in part by referring to promises made to when Frederiksberg lost mainline rail service in 1911 when the central station moved. In order to connect the new electric trains to the Frederikssund line
Frederikssundbanen
Frederikssundbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen; it connects the city center with a number of Northwestern suburbs and other townships until Frederikssund on the Western coast of the Nordsjælland peninsula....
it was decided that trains would stop (and reverse) at Vanløse between Frederiksberg and Godthåbsvej. A third connecting curve at Flintholm was built to allow direct running from Vanløse towards Hellerup, and the first S-train service began in 1934 with the route
- FrederiksbergFrederiksberg stationFrederiksberg Station is a rapid transit station opened in 2003 on the Copenhagen Metro in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It serves the M1 and M2 lines and connects with bus services. It is located in fare zones 1 and 2...
- VanløseVanløse stationVanløse Station is an S-train and Copenhagen Metro station in the Vanløse district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The metro station at street level is the eastern terminus of lines M1 and M2. S-trains on the Frederikssund radial stop at an upper level to the south of the Metro station...
(reverse) - GodthåbsvejGrøndal stationGrøndal station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark served by the ring line....
- NørrebroNørrebro stationNørrebro station is a station on the S-train’s Ring line in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves the outer end of the Nørrebro district. The planned City Circle Line would see underground trains of the Copenhagen Metro begin serving the station as well....
- LyngbyvejRyparken stationRyparken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Ring line and Farum radial. It is serviced by the A, F, and H. The station was originally named Lyngbyvej Station it was renamed in 1972 to Ryparken Station....
- HellerupHellerup StationHellerup Station is a railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, serviced by S-trains on the B, C, E, and F services, and by Kystbanen regional trains. The station was designed by V.C.H. Wolf and opened on 22 July 1863, simultaneous with the start of service on the Klampenborg line....
- CharlottenlundCharlottenlund stationCharlottenlund station is a station on the Klampenborg radial of the S-train system in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is named after the nearby Charlottenlund Palace....
- OrdrupOrdrup stationOrdrup station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves the Klampenborg radial....
- KlampenborgKlampenborg StationKlampenborg Station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the terminus of the Klampenborg radial. It also serves Kystbanen between Helsingør and Malmö...
In 1936 Fuglebakken station
Fuglebakken station
Fuglebakken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by the ring line....
between Godthåbsvej and Nørrebro opened, and around 1940 Vanløse station was rebuilt completely as part of the electrification of the Frederikssund line
Frederikssundbanen
Frederikssundbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen; it connects the city center with a number of Northwestern suburbs and other townships until Frederikssund on the Western coast of the Nordsjælland peninsula....
, but this did not significantly affect operations on the Frederiksberg line.
Not much changed for the next 45 years. Ryparken station
Ryparken station
Ryparken station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Ring line and Farum radial. It is serviced by the A, F, and H. The station was originally named Lyngbyvej Station it was renamed in 1972 to Ryparken Station....
was rebuilt in connection with the Hareskovbanen
Hareskovbanen
Hareskovbanen is one of six radial S-train lines in Copenhagen. It connects the city center to a number of northwestern suburbs and the cities of Værløse and Farum, with the terminus placed in the latter.-Stations:...
reconstruction in the mid-1970s. In 1986 the two new stations Solbjerg
Fasanvej station
Fasanvej Station is a rapid transit station on the Copenhagen Metro in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It was known as Solbjerg Station until 25 September 2006. The station opened 12 October 2003, and serves the M1 and M2 lines...
(now Fasanvej) and Lindevang
Lindevang station
Lindevang Station is a rapid transit station on the Copenhagen Metro in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It serves the M1 and M2 lines. It is located where the Metro line crosses Dalgas Boulevard in Frederiksberg. It opened 12 October 2003...
between Frederiksberg and Vanløse were opened. About this time rail freight to and from points north of Hellerup dwindled to almost nothing as the DanLink plan moved the rail ferries carrying freight to/from Sweden from Helsingør to Østerport
Østerport station
Østerport station is a railway station in Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is served by most S-trains, Kystbanen and other regional trains, as well as some InterCity trains.The station is used by approximately 30,000 passengers each day.-History:...
. But the freight line out of Østerport led to Lersøen, so most of the ring line still had active freight traffic.
The 1990s, however, saw fundamental change. The decision to build the Øresund bridge meant that freight would soon be absent on the entire freight bypass. At the same time policial determination to use revenue from Ørestad
Ørestad
Ørestad is a developing city area in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the island of Amager. It is expected that 20,000 people will live in Ørestad, 20,000 will study, and 80,000 people will be employed in the area...
land sales to finance the Copenhagen Metro
Copenhagen Metro
Copenhagen Metro is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and...
was building. It was decided to let the Frederiksberg-Vanløse line become part of the metro and to extend the S-trains from Hellerup along the now unused freight line south of Flintholm.
The Frederiksberg-Vanløse line closed a bit at a time between 1995 and 2001 and reopened as a metro line in 2003. The entire line from Vanløse to Hellerup was closed for a complete track rebuilding for most of 2001 and reopened in early 2002, though only from a temporary terminus north of Flintholm, where all of the connecting curves had been removed. In 2004 the new large interchange station at Flintholm
Flintholm station
Flintholm Station is an important S-train and Metro interchange station in Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened on 24 January 2004, it is located in the west of Copenhagen where the Frederikssund S-train Line crosses the S-train Ring Line. It is located in fare zone 2....
opened, and from early 2005 the ring line trains could run almost all the way to Ny Ellebjerg
Ny Ellebjerg station
Ny Ellebjerg station is a station on the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Køge radial and the ring line....
. From Flintholm to Vigerslev Allé
Vigerslev Allé station
Vigerslev Allé station is an S-train station in Copenhagen, Denmark servicing the ring line....
the ring line tracks occupy the same space as the old freight bypass; between Vigerslev Allé and Ny Ellebjerg new tracks have been built beside the freight tracks which are still in use for freight to and from the Øresund bridge, bypassing the central station.
The southern terminus at Ny Ellebjerg
Ny Ellebjerg station
Ny Ellebjerg station is a station on the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an interchange station between the Køge radial and the ring line....
opened quietly on November 16, 2006, a few months in advance of the official opening on January 6, 2007. Originally it had been planned that there would be platforms at the Øresund bypass tracks in addition to the S-train platforms, but before construction started, passenger service on these tracks was withdrawn. It is still possible that regional/intercity passenger service will eventually come to Ny Ellebjerg as part of plans to increase long-distance capacity in and out of København H
København H
Copenhagen Central Station is the largest train station in Denmark, located in Copenhagen, with entrances to Bernstorffsgade , Banegårdspladsen, Reventlowsgade and access to platforms from Tietgensgade...
.