Swedish King opens new Malmö City Tunnel
Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the Malmö City Tunnel at 5.30pm on Saturday afternoon, with the opening ceremony attended by an estimated 6,000 spectators at the city's Posthusplatsen.
"Ten years ago, the Öresund Bridge was opened. Today, it is obviously possible to live on one side of the sound and work on the other side. The City Tunnel further contributes to this integration and establishes even closer ties between the countries," the King said in a statement on Saturday.
The City Tunnel is a 17-kilometre railway connecting three stations in Malmö with the Öresund bridge. At the same time, it also links the Skåne rail network and increases capacity for future railway traffic. A total of six kilometers consists of a tunnel under central Malmö.
Others in attendance at the opening ceremony included Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) general director Gunnar Malm, Regional Board Chairwoman Pia Kinhult, Infrastructure Minister Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd and Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu.
"The City Tunnel is an important piece of the puzzle for the continued positive development of Malmö and the entire Öresund region and an important project for the whole country," said Malm.
"As head of the Transport Administration, I am of course also delighted that the project is well ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than the budget," he added.
The project is estimated to cost 8.45 billion kronor ($1.24 billion) at 2001 prices.
The opening ceremonies included performances by a number of artists from Skåne, including Marie Fredriksson of Roxette and Timbuktu, and ended with the push of a button by the King, which launched a fireworks display of lights from the stage.
The King and over 400 invited guests took a premiere tour of the City Tunnel by train. The train stopped at Triangeln and Hyllie, where the King officially opened the two stations. The tour ended with dinner for the guests at the new Glashallen at the new underground Malmö Central Station.
The City Tunnel has now been handed over to the Transport Authority and the city Malmö, which will operate the facility and its railway stations. The tunnel begins regular operations on December 12th and trains will run according to a timetable through the City Tunnel.
From Sunday to December 10th, the public has the chance to test run the City Tunnel and have a look at the new Malmö Central, Triangeln and Hyllie stations.
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"Ten years ago, the Öresund Bridge was opened. Today, it is obviously possible to live on one side of the sound and work on the other side. The City Tunnel further contributes to this integration and establishes even closer ties between the countries," the King said in a statement on Saturday.
The City Tunnel is a 17-kilometre railway connecting three stations in Malmö with the Öresund bridge. At the same time, it also links the Skåne rail network and increases capacity for future railway traffic. A total of six kilometers consists of a tunnel under central Malmö.
Others in attendance at the opening ceremony included Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) general director Gunnar Malm, Regional Board Chairwoman Pia Kinhult, Infrastructure Minister Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd and Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu.
"The City Tunnel is an important piece of the puzzle for the continued positive development of Malmö and the entire Öresund region and an important project for the whole country," said Malm.
"As head of the Transport Administration, I am of course also delighted that the project is well ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than the budget," he added.
The project is estimated to cost 8.45 billion kronor ($1.24 billion) at 2001 prices.
The opening ceremonies included performances by a number of artists from Skåne, including Marie Fredriksson of Roxette and Timbuktu, and ended with the push of a button by the King, which launched a fireworks display of lights from the stage.
The King and over 400 invited guests took a premiere tour of the City Tunnel by train. The train stopped at Triangeln and Hyllie, where the King officially opened the two stations. The tour ended with dinner for the guests at the new Glashallen at the new underground Malmö Central Station.
The City Tunnel has now been handed over to the Transport Authority and the city Malmö, which will operate the facility and its railway stations. The tunnel begins regular operations on December 12th and trains will run according to a timetable through the City Tunnel.
From Sunday to December 10th, the public has the chance to test run the City Tunnel and have a look at the new Malmö Central, Triangeln and Hyllie stations.
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