Leg two: Hamburg to Copenhagen: The train that goes on a boat!

The main event, so to speak. One of the my main motivations behind this trip, and certainly behind the timing, was to travel on the "Volgelfuglinie" (line of flight line) between Hamburg and Copenhagen. Up until December 2019, trains between these two cities traveled by land to the German port of Puttgarden, where the trains boarded a ferry boat to the Danish port of Rodby, continuing on land to Copenhagen.

As I mentioned in my other post, the route had been plagued by engineering works and replacement buses for months, and was only re-opening for a short time before being re-routed over the longer overland route, so the window of opportunity to travel on this unique service was small.

I opted for a leisurely 13:28 departure from Hamburg, allowing time for a morning stroll around the city and a late breakfast. In the past, the 'Volgelfluglinie' had been operated by German ICE-D trains, the Diesel equivalent of the flagship ICE trainsets, but in more recent years it was exclusively operated by Danish IC3 DMUs, affectionately known by the Germans as "Gumminase" (rubbernose) trains, for reasons that are probably quite obvious from the picture below!

The IC3 trains are quite basic, and are set to be replaced in the near future, but tick all the essential boxes; plenty of room, comfy seats that align up with windows, free WI-fi (in Denmark only). Onboard catering is limited to a vending machine in the vestibule area, but on this trip it wasn't really an issue, as the break in journey on the ship gave us the opportunity to grab a bite to eat and a drink from the self service restaurant on board. I would recommend the beer, but not the food!

As exciting as this leg of my journey was, as I sat on the Danish train I have to admit there was a niggling feeling of guilt in the back of my mind. This leg fell quite a bit further short than all the other legs on one of my main criteria; to travel in an as environmentally friendly and carbon neutral way as possible. As the German countryside opened up and the suburban views of Hamburg gave way to open fields and countryside, the lack of overhead wires reminded me that for the first time on this journey, I was now on a diesel train. Even worse, the sea crossing was about to be made on a fossil fuel burning ship. It was still a cleaner way to travel than flying, but I was definitely not being carbon neutral any more.

While it certainly is a shame to lose this unique service, both the new overland route, and the future link via the Ferhman belt tunnel, are far more Eco-friendly alternatives. The loss of a nostalgic and iconic train ferry is a shame, but it also brings a lot of advantages; after taking the loading/ unloading, and the reduced speed of the ship into account, the overland route takes roughly the same time, and will soon be operated by electric trains. The added flexibility that has arisen from not having to rely on the ferry timetable has also allowed DB/DSB to offer a better service in terms of both frequency and onward connections, with an onward connection to Sweden now much more feasible. And finally, the loss of the need to physically fit the trains on the boat has finally allowed them to operate longer trains.

Back in northern Germany, my train had reached the port of Puttgarten. At this point a slightly worrying announcement was made... we had to leave the train. My brain jumped to conclusions; would we have to board the boat on foot? Were we about to be bussed across the border? But as quickly as my heart sank, i was immediately relieved to find out that we would just be swapping trains, and the new train would shunt onto the boat as planned. The experience of being on a train that boards a ferry would not be lost!

I'm still not sure why this train swap was necessary; my first thought was that the train we were on was too long to fit on the boat, but they were both identical IC3 train sets. I expected a change of train crew, from German to Danish staff, but that wouldn't require a change of train, as they were both danish trains. If anyone has any theories or explanations, I'd love to hear them in the comments!

And on to the boat we went! The train 'drove' directly onto the car decks, with trucks parked tight either side. On this train ferry, passengers all need to leave the train for the duration of the crossing, although I know that on other services, particularly the night trains from Malmö to Berlin or from mainland Italy to Sicily, passengers are allowed to stay on the train. It was quite a cramped exit from the train, with a steep descent down some steps to the vehicle deck, and then up the stairs to the main decks of the ship. Not the most accessible system and it would be a struggle for anyone with limited mobility, which again is a definite advantage of the new routing. But it was an amazing experience that I'm definitely glad I got to achieve.

As for the sailing itself, well it was a very pleasant short ferry journey. I've been taking ferries across the Irish sea, the channel and the north sea since I was a young child, so it all felt very familiar. Facilities are limited, but it is a very short crossing (less than an hour). There is the usual self service restaurant, a shop, and a decent sized outdoor deck. Before you know it, the announcement is made to rejoin the train.

The first stop on Danish soil is Rodby faerge, where Danish border patrol do a passport/ ID card check on board. There were no checks on the way from Denmark to Germany. I made the return journey on a later crossing, which I have to admit was more pleasant. Not only because the train journey was not interrupted by a change of train, but also because the sailing happened at sunset which afforded some great views and photo opportunities on the outdoor deck.

Now, I can't even recommend this journey if I wanted to, as it's no longer possible. But although it had a huge novelty appeal, when you take that away, it actually had very little going for it. For a train journey it was extremely inefficient. It was also not time efficient and suffered from a lack of flexibility and timetabling issues. During that window of it's final months of operation it certainly seemed popular, but capacity was low so that wasn't really much of an achievement. It also seemed to be exclusively used by leisure travelers, and enthusiasts keen to do it while they still could. It was nice to see families and tourists using it, but it was never going to appeal to business travelers or people traveling on towards Sweden. Nor was it going to appeal to passengers traveling from further afield from the rest of Germany.

The new overland route is a better option over all, and the Fehrman belt link will eventually bring this connection a new lease of life. A novelty will be lost, but a world of opportunity will be gained... On that basis I say goodbye to the "Volgelfuglinie" with a hint of sadness, and can definitely say that you will be missed. But I welcome the new route, and the future connection with open arms.

Also, here's a video of the exciting bits, going on and off the boat....