DSB (Danish State Railways) experiences historic passenger numbers over the Great Belt Bridge. The number of train passengers crossing the Great Belt Bridge has reached new heights, while car traffic is experiencing a slight decline. In the first half of 2024, DSB has transported the highest number of passengers over the Great Belt Bridge since train traffic started in 1997. These data have been presented by the railway company and reported in Jyllands-Posten.
“This is a very positive development that hopefully will lead to a shift towards more sustainable transportation, where more people choose the train over the car,” said Jeppe Juul, the transport policy chief of the Council for Green Transition, to Jyllands-Posten.
Traffic data from Sund & Bælt also shows that passenger car traffic fell by 0.8 percent in the first half of 2024. This is the first time a real decline in car traffic over the bridge has been observed, except for periods affected by the financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a minor decline in 2013.
Despite this development, there are still more people using cars than trains to cross the bridge. According to Jyllands-Posten’s data, DSB had 4.47 million passengers in the first six months of 2024, while 5.62 million cars crossed the bridge in the same period.
Niels-Otto Fisker, DSB’s communications chief, notes an increasing interest in train travel over the Great Belt. He highlights to Jyllands-Posten that both business travelers and the popular Orange tickets, which can cost as little as 99 Danish kroner, contribute to this trend. Previously, DSB has announced that almost six out of ten passengers crossing the Great Belt Bridge travel on an Orange ticket.
Jyllands-Posten has attempted to get a comment from Flixbus regarding the development of bus traffic over the bridge, but has not yet received a response.