Svendborg Line

The Svendborg Line (Danish: Svendborgbanen) is the railway line between Odense and Svendborg, inaugurated on 12 July 1876. The line was established by Sydfyenske Jernbaner, and taken over by DSB on 1 April 1949. Since 13 December 2020, the line has been managed by Arriva, a private multinational company.^[1]

Svendborg Line
A class MQ multiple unit at Fruens Bøge station.
Overview
Native name	Svendborgbanen
Termini	Odense station Svendborg station
Service
Operator(s)	DSB
Rolling stock	Class MQ (Desiro)
History
Opened	12 July 1876; 148 years ago (1876-07-12)
Technical
Line length	48.2 km
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	120 km/h
Route map Legend km Copenhagen– Fredericia/Taulov line to Copenhagen 0.0 Odense Copenhagen– Fredericia/Taulov line to Fredericia/ Taulov 3.8 Odense Sygehus 5.3 Fruens Bøge 6.9 Hjallese 11.0 Højby 14.9 Årslev 17.4 Pederstrup 22.4 Ringe to Korinth 27.1 Rudme 30.2 Kværndrup 35.6 Stenstrup 37.0 Stenstrup Syd 45.7 Svendborg Vest 48.2 Svendborg km This diagram: view talk edit

During the daytime, two trains each hour drive the stretch between Odense and Svendborg in both directions that do not stop at all stations (only one train in the evening hours). Additionally, a train drives between Odense and Ringe once an hour, during day and evening hours, in both directions that stop at all stations.

Stations (current and former)

	Station	Location	Distance from Odense (km)	Distance from Svendborg (km)	Notes
	Odense station (Od)	Odense	0	46.8	Terminus since 1954. Connected to the Funen Main Line.
	Odense Sygehus station (Ods)	Odense			Terminus until 1954.
	Fruens Bøge station (Frs)	Odense
	Hjallese Station (Hjs)	Hjallese
	Lindved Trinbræt (Lis)	Lindved			Open between 1934 and 1955
	Højby station (Høs)	Højby
	Årslev station (Ås)	Årslev
	Pederstrup Station (Pds)	Pederstrup
	Ringe station (Re)	Ringe			Formerly connected to the Nyborg–Ringe–Faaborg line.
	Rudme Station (Rus)	Rudme
	Kværndrup station (Kvs)	Kværndrup
	Stenstrup station (Sts)	Stenstrup
	Stenstrup syd Station (Sis)	Stenstrup
	Kirkeby Station (Kis)	Kirkeby			Decommissioned in 1969.
	Sørup Billetsalgsted (Søs)				Decommissioned in 1965.
	Svendborg Vest station (Svv)	Svendborg
	Svendborg station (Svg)	Svendborg	46.8	0	Once connected to Svendborg–Faaborgbanen and Svendborg–Nyborgbanen.

Decommissioned stations

Odense Syd (1876–1954)

Odense Syd (also known as Odense Sydbanegård, Odense S., Odense SFJ) on Vestre Stationsvej 5, was the main station of Odense from its opening until and including 22 May 1954. Subsequently to this, Odense Banegård on Østre Stationsvej has been used. The old station building opened on 8 December 1954 as a bus station,^[2] which, on 28 May 1978, was moved to Dannebrogsgade on the other side of the tracks. The building is now used by the administration of Fyns Almennyttige Boligselskab. The two-story building was drawn by H.A.W. Haughsted in a renaissance style built in 1876 for the opening of the line. In 1911, the wings, drawn by J. Vilhelm Petersen, were added.^[3]

The former Sydfyenske Banegaard, Odense Syd, on Vestre Stationsvej in Odense.

Lindved (1934–1955)

The stop Lindved railway stop lay in the village of Lindved between Hjallese and Højby in the period between 15 May 1934 and 21 May 1955, and had been added due to a desire from inhabitants of the area.

Kirkeby (1881–1969)

The expenses for the construction of the station at Kirkeby Heath (now the Kirkeby Forest), ca. 1.5 km from Kirkeby, were covered by chamberlain Otto Ditlev Rosenørn-Lehn (who was minister of foreign affairs in the Estrup cabinet) from the estate of Hvidkilde, who wanted a loading place for lumber production. The station opened on 24 August 1881. In 1907, the station building was demolished and replaced by a new building. On 29 June 1965, the building was decommissioned as a station, and as of 1 June 1969, the trains no longer stopped at the station.

Sørup (1876–1965)

Sørup Station, located between Kirkeby and Svendborg, was built for the opening of the line in 1876. The last train stopped at the station on 29 May 1965.

Railway renovation

The line was renovated several times from 2003 to 2009. From 12 May 2003 to 9 June 2003, the technical facilities were expanded, tracks and ties were replaced and individual crossings were eliminated. Some stations had their platforms extended or changed. In Odense, a track (now called track 8) was added north of track 7, between the platform belonging to track 7 and the bus station parking lot.^[4] During this period, the trains were replaced by train buses.

From 11 August to 7 September 2003^[5] 25 km of tracks and 20,000 new ties were placed, and 15,000 sqm of rubble was cleaned^[6][7] between Stenstrup and Årslev. During this period, the trains were replaced by train buses.

As part of this renovation, the station buildings in Hjallese, Højby, Pederstrup, Rudme and Stenstrup were demolished, and the areas modernized.

In January 2004, fares were free between Odense and Svendborg to compensate for the many cancellations and delays in 2003.

DSB rented twelve Desiro train sets to replace the MR-MRD train sets that had driven on the line since 1980. This allowed a speed increase from 100 to 120 km/h,^[4] and the introduction of a half-hour schedule in both directions between Odense and Svendborg, and a one-hour schedule in both directions between Odense and Ringe.

In 2005, additional renovations were carried out;^[8] among other things, the signals were repaired or replaced, and the tracks polished^[9] or replaced.^[10]

During the preparations for the renovation of tracks and a crossing at Svendborg Station, in May 2007, additional remains of an already-known medieval Catholic monastery was found under the tracks, for which reason the passengers were transported by train bus between Svendborg Station and Svendborg West during the first month.^[11][12] After this, the train drove to a temporary platform close to Svendborg Station^[13] until the completion of the archeological surveys and the reestablishment of the line on 28 January 2008.^[14]

From 30 May to 9 August 2009, the two remaining stretches were renovated, Svendborg–Stenstrup and Årslev–Odense, a total of 27 km. The ties were replaced, and the tracks replaced. Furthermore, thirteen bridges on the entire stretch were maintained, in addition to a conversion of nine crossings and the replacement of two railroad switches.^[15] During the renovation, the line was closed between Svendborg and Ringe until school summer holidays, and completely closed during the holidays. On the closed-down stretches, the passengers were transported by train buses.^[16]

Operational irregularities

For several years, delays and cancellations have been frequent on the Svendborg line. There have been reports of faints and anxiety attacks because of overfilled trains.^[17] During the interval January–October 2006, the average proportion of customers that reached their destinations less than 3 minutes delayed was 86.9%.^[18]

Gallery

• 
  Svendborgbanen.
• 
  The closed-down station in Sørup, north of Svendborg.
• 
  Temporary platform in the summer of 2007, placed ca. 150 meters from Svendborg Station.

Literature/sources

• Viinholt-Nielsen, Lars: Svendborgbanen i 125 år. SFJ-Bøger 2001. ISBN 87-984810-4-5.

References

Access to the articles in Fyens Stiftstidende requires a subscription.

1. Slut med DSB: Arriva overtager driften på Svendborgbanen 6 December 2018 på faa.dk
2. Fyens Stiftstidende: December 1954: Ny rutebilstation
3. Harnow, Henrik (2001). Industribyen Odense : en nutidig fotografisk vandring i industriens Odense 1830–1945. Odense: Odense Bys Museer. ISBN 87-7838-577-6
4. Fyens Stiftstidende: Busser baner vejen for hurtigere tog
5. Fyens Stiftstidende: Fem ugers togstop på Svendborg-banen
6. "Banedanmark: Togene vender tilbage på Svendborgbanen". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
7. Fyens Stiftstidende: På søndag atter tog til Svendborg
8. Fyens Stiftstidende: Svendborgbanen højt prioriteret
9. Fyens Stiftstidende: Svendborg-banen repareres straks
10. "Banedanmark: Nedsat hastighed og færre tog på Svendborgbanen". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
11. "Banedanmark: Udgravning af kloster på Svendborg Station i gang". Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
12. "Banedanmark renoverer spor og overkørsel i Svendborg". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
13. Banedanmark: Helt til Svendborg igen fra tirsdag den 26 juni
14. "Banedanmark genåbner Svendborg Station". Archived from the original on 14 November 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
15. "Banedanmark: Stort sporarbejde mellem Svendborg og Odense". Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
16. DSB: Ny køreplan Odense–Svendborg
17. Søren Stjerne Schmidt (29 August 2016). "Sydfynske togpendlere gør oprør over forsinkelser og aflysninger". TV2 Fyn. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
18. "Svendborgbanen" (PDF). ft.dk. Retrieved 21 December 2018.

External links

• Line information (TIB) from Banedanmark
• (in Danish) Banedanmark – government agency responsible for maintenance and traffic control of most of the Danish railway network
• (in Danish) Arriva – multinational public transport company operating bus and train services in Denmark
• (in Danish) Danske Jernbaner – website with information on railway history in Denmark

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