An example of unusual Train+Bike service is that provided between Copenhagen and Malmö on the Øresundtåg (in Danish; in Swedish only the first accent is different: Öresundtåg); this train is operated by the Swedish company Skånetrafiken (regional railroads of Skåne, the region of Malmö). The train connects the Danish city of Elsinore (the royal palace of Hamlet!) with the Swedish city of Göteborg, stopping along the way at several stations in Copenhagen and Malmö.
The year 2000 marked the inauguration of the roadway and railroad connection over the Øresund, the strait that divides Denmark from Sweden and that over the past centuries has provided a natural barrier during the long wars between the two Scandinavian countries.
The connector is divided into three segments: in the middle an artificial island called Peberholm was constructed for the purpose; the section near Copenhagen is an underwater tunnel which starts near the airport, the section near Malmö is a long bridge with many arches that connects Peberholm to the outskirts of the Swedish city. Railroad and roadway run side by side in the first half, while on the bridge the railroad runs under the roadway.
Unfortunately for cyclists the connector does not allow cyclists, while it is possible to transport one’s bike on the Øresundtåg.
There are trips every 20 minutes, and the journey takes 35 minutes from the central station at Copenhagen to the central station at Malmö; only 15 minutes from the Copenhagen airport to the southern station at Malmö.
Bicycle transport is usually provided in the middle car which has a mixed configuration: against the two walls there are two rows of folding seats, behind the seats there are straps for fastening bikes that then stretch across three seats; a flexible solution that allows space to be used as needed for bikes or for travelers on foot. In Italy I have seen a similar solution but only on the new trains of the Venezia-Adria line run by Ferrovie Venete [Venete railroads].
One can buy a ticket without difficulty at the automatic machines; from Copenhagen it costs 78 Danish Kroner (about 10.5 Euros) [$13.70] for the person, half that amount, 39 Kroner, for the bicycle (about 5.2 Euros) [$6.85]. The amount is double for a roundtrip.
The trip isn’t particularly spectacular: at Copenhagen the train runs underground or through a sunken trench, then through the underwater tunnel and finally over the bridge but below the roadway.
