The M3 line or City Circle Line is a
loop line of the
Copenhagen Metro. It has been claimed by
COWI A/S that the line is the largest construction project to have taken place in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
during the last 400 years.
["The Copenhagen Metro, Denmark."](_blank)
''cowi.com'', Retrieved: 10 June 2019. The network's total length is and has 17 stations. The line opened on 29 September 2019.
Plans for its construction were approved by the
Danish Parliament
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
on 1 June 2007. Preferred bidders were announced during November 2010.
The total cost was estimated at 15 billion
kroner but had risen to 21.3 billion kroner ($ billion) when the contractors were announced in late 2010.
It is a fully automated line, using driverless trains and capable of routine 24/7 operations. Italian rolling stock manufacturer
AnsaldoBreda
Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
provides the trains for the new line, and the stations are intentionally similar to the Copenhagen Metro's existing stations. The transit agency
Movia has projected that up to 34 million passengers eventually switch from
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es to using the Metro during each year.
History
Background
During 2002, the
Copenhagen Metro, a fully automated driverless metro system, was opened.
It quickly became known for its high level of reliability, attaining an operational punctuality in excess of 98 per cent of on-time arrivals. Due to its success, during 2005, plans were put forward for further expansion of Copenhagen Metro in the form of the City Circle Line.
["The Copenhagen Metro."](_blank)
''Ramboll
Rambøll Group A/S, also known as "Ramboll", is a Danish multinational architecture, engineering, and consulting company. In the past 25 years, the company has expanded from being a business mainly focused on the Nordic region, to having offices ...
'', Retrieved: 10 June 2018. As proposed, it involved the construction of a underground circular route, a total of 17 stations, and emergency escape shafts, to support two new underground lines, designated as ''M3'' and ''M4''. The planned City Circle Line would connect into the
Kongens Nytorv
Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...
and
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
stations of the preexisting metro network.
During the summer of 2007, the Danish Parliament gave its approval for the construction of the proposed line, although it would be another four years before construction activity would commence. At the time of its approval, the project had a projected cost of DKK21.3 billion ($3.2 billion) along with an anticipated date of completion by July 2019.
Transport group
Metroselskabet held overall responsibility for the City Circle Line.
Contracting
On 7 January 2011, the civil engineering contract for the City Circle Line was awarded to the Copenhagen Metro Team (CMT), a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
comprising
Salini Impregilo,
Technimont, and
SELI
Kato Vermio (, before 1926: Κάτω ΣÎλι - ''Kato Seli'', or just ) is, primarily, an Aromanians, Aromanian (Vlachs, Vlach) Greek village and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community of the Veria, Veria municipality. Since the 2 ...
.
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
rail equipment specialist
Hitachi Rail STS was selected to supply the trains, electrical infrastructure and communications systems,
supervisory control and data acquisition
SCADA (an acronym for supervisory control and data acquisition) is a control system architecture comprising computers, networked data communications and graphical user interfaces for high-level supervision of machines and processes. It also cove ...
(SCADA), platform-edge doors, and the signalling system.
The route's tunnels were constructed by Seli Tunneling Denmark ApS, subsidiary of Seli SPA, and subsequently acquired by Salini Impregilo.
Consultancy services regarding rolling stock and the automated train depot were sourced from
Ramboll
Rambøll Group A/S, also known as "Ramboll", is a Danish multinational architecture, engineering, and consulting company. In the past 25 years, the company has expanded from being a business mainly focused on the Nordic region, to having offices ...
and
WS Atkins
Atkins was a British Multinational corporation, multinational construction, design, engineering and business services company. It was formerly listed on the London Stock exchange and had a London headquarters. In July 2017 the company was bough ...
.
The line incorporates various live data feeds for the purpose of highlighting
hazard
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...
s and recording any accidents using project compliance software ComplyPro, produced by software company
Comply Serve.
Construction
During 2013, boring of a pair of parallel tunnels commenced using a total of four
tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
s (TBMs) named ''Eva'', ''Minerva'', ''Nora'', and ''Tria''.
These tunnels were bored with an inner diameter of and at a depth varying between . The tunnels have been built by Seli Tunneling Denmark, that also manufactured two out of four machines in Denmark, at a facility especially prepared for the task. The interior walls of the tunnel have been coated with
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
and multiple emergency shafts have been installed for the purpose of providing
ventilation
Ventilation may refer to:
* Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation
** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing
*** Respirator, a ma ...
and maintenance access.
The extracted earth produced by the construction effort was routinely used to fill the
Nordhavn reclamation project in
Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...
.
During the construction process, it was commonplace for geological sensors to be deployed in the general vicinity to monitor ground movements for the purpose of protecting buildings and other structures in the city.
During 2014, the line's control and maintenance centre buildings were completed (at Vasbygade, ). That same year, various other works were finished, including the walls around all of the stations, and three of the shaft structures.
Reportedly, the final construction activity was centered upon the refurbishment of the surrounding areas around the new stations.
Stations and route
Overview

The City Circle Line serves 17 stations.
It crosses the
M1 and
M2 lines at
Kongens Nytorv
Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...
and
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
stations, and suburban train services at København H, Østerport and Nørrebro.
It extend the Metro network to the
Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...
and
Østerbro
Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...
areas and
København H (the Copenhagen central station).
The City Circle Line services to many of the major areas of Copenhagen, including the Danish Parliament, the Central Station, City Hall, and multiple stations of the S-train and existing metro stops. Access to the region and commuter heavy rail network is also deliberately provision for at several places along its route; furthermore, a twin-track line provides a connection between the City Circle Line and the
Nordhavnen Metro.
Just as M1 and M2 share a section of the existing metro, the City Circle Line shares a 6-station section with the
M4 line.
Initially, two possible routes were considered, after an even bigger screening of ideas. In December 2005, it was announced that the
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
and
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
had selected the Frederiksberg route; the purpose is to cover areas not yet served by
S-train
The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
s or the
Metro.
The finished City Circle Line has been promoted as playing a heavy influence upon much of Copenhagen's current transport network. The transit agency
Movia projects up to 34 million passengers switch from buses to the Metro annually. Once the line is completed, 85 per cent of all homes, work places and educational facilities in Copenhagen's inner city area, as well as the surrounding neighbourhoods, shall be less than a ten-minute walk from either a metro or train station.
It has been projected for the line is used by approximately 240,000 passengers per day.
It is fully automated, being operated using a driverless system that provides 24/7 service coverage and at a peak frequency between trains of 100 seconds. It is intended for trains on the line to achieve an average speed of 40km/h during regular service.
As such, performing a round journey on the line is estimated takes approximately 29 minutes.
Stations
The stations of the City Circle Line are all underground, with easy access from the street level to the platform.
The structure of the stations is largely identical to that of the existing
Copenhagen Metro stations. They are built at a depth of approximately 19 meters using
cut-and-cover
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two Portal (architecture), portals common at each end, though ther ...
methods; a standardised box structure has been adopted, measuring 64 meters by 20 meters. Each one is outfitted with island platforms of between 7 meters and 9 meters.
Stations are listed counterclockwise, beginning in the southeast.
*
København H (Copenhagen Central Station, interchange with
S-train
The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
s,
DSB and
SJ)
*
RÃ¥dhuspladsen (City Hall Square)
*
Gammel Strand near
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also ...
*
Kongens Nytorv
Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...
(interchange with
M1 and
M2)
*
Marmorkirken (The Marble Church)
*
Østerport (interchange with S-trains and DSB)
*
Trianglen (close to the
Parken Stadium
Parken, currently known as Parken - Connected by 3 for sponsorship reasons, and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from ...
)
*
Poul Henningsens Plads
*
Vibenshus Runddel
*
Skjolds Plads
*
Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...
(interchange with S-trains)
*
Nørrebros Runddel
*
Nuuks Plads
*
Aksel Møllers Have
*
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
(interchange with M1 and M2)
*
Frederiksberg Allé
*
Enghave Plads
While the stations have a similar structure to those of the current Metro, they have been designed with more varied materials and colors, making each individual station more recognisable.
Rolling stock
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
rolling stock manufacturer
AnsaldoBreda
Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
, which had previously provided trains for the existing Copenhagen metro, was selected to supply new-build rolling stock for the line.
Deliveries of the trains to the Metro company commenced during 2014; these are being referred to as being the ''version 5'' of the
AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro trains.
While these vehicles are broadly identical to the ones running on the Copenhagen metro, they feature several advancements in technology, materials and design.
The driverless trains are directly monitored from the line's centralised operations and maintenance centre; they are equipped with a
communications-based train control
Communications-based train control (CBTC) is a railway signaling system that uses telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control. CBTC allows a train's position to be known more accura ...
(CBTC) for this purpose.
These vehicles are to reportedly capable of a top speed of 90 km/h, an increase over the 80 km/h maximum for trains used on other Metro lines. They have a maximum capacity of 314 passengers and there is a train every 100 seconds, giving a frequency of 36 trains per hour.
The system runs 24 hours per day, and passengers are able to keep track of the train location through an electronic display system.
References
External links
Information about the City Circle from the official Copenhagen Metro web siteCity Circle Line official website
{{Copenhagen Metro
Railway loop lines
Railway lines opened in 2019
2019 establishments in Denmark
750 V DC railway electrification