Denmark is surrounded by sea, and sea transport has historically been the most important mode of transport. However, the development of the road and rail network and the establishment of a bridge connection between the different islands and the mainland, however, has today given land transport a far greater importance. Of the newer bridge and tunnel connections, mention is made of the Storebælt connection, which opened in 1997 and the Øresund link, opened in 2000.
Railways
Denmark was the first country in the Nordic countries to receive railways. The first line was built in 1847 between Copenhagen and Roskilde. The railway network has a total length of 2573 kilometers (2017), most of which is operated by the Danish State Railways (DSB). The main axes of the railway network are east – west from Copenhagen across the islands to Esbjerg; north-south from Frederikshavn through East Jutland to the Danish-German border. Falster is connected to Sjælland by the 3200 meter long Storstrøms bridge, which is part of the “Bird Flight Line” to the continent with a ferry connection between Rødbyhavn on Lolland and Puttgarden on Fehmarnin Germany. Both passenger and freight traffic have been reduced in recent years. In 2002, Copenhagen was given the country’s first subway, the driverless Copenhagen Metro.
As there are only slight differences in altitude, Denmark is suitable for cyclists, and in the cities it is also largely adapted for bicycle traffic. Here is a tripod with city bikes for free lending in Copenhagen.
Road transport
The road network is very well developed, with a total length of 74 498 km (2017), of which 1237 km highway (2017). The main road network is linked by a number of bridges and ferry connections.
Aviation
Copenhagen Airport (EKCH / CPH) is one of the Nordic region’s three major airports (Stockholm Airport, Arlanda and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen).
The airport is currently owned by the Danish-registered limited company Copenhagen Airport AS, where Australian airport investor Macquarie Airports owns 53.7 per cent of the shares. Other shareholders are the Danish Ministry of Transport with 39.2 per cent. The remaining shares (7.1 per cent) are owned by private and institutional investors in Denmark and abroad.
20,043,287 passengers traveled through Copenhagen Airport in 2016, corresponding to over 79,500 every single day on average. Compared to 2015, there was an increase of 9.1 per cent compared to the previous year. The number of passengers increased by 94,000 or 6 per cent at Billund Airport, while Aarhus Airport had 9,000 or 5 per cent more passengers. Aalborg Airport had 25,000 or 3 percent more passengers in 2016 compared to 2015.
Shipping
Danish vessels make up a fleet of 1735 boats (2017), of which 537 cargo ships, 502 fishing vessels and 106 passenger ships and ferries.
Domestic transport is an important but declining part of the transport sector in Denmark. The most important traffic ports are in Fredericia, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Esbjerg and Aalborg.
