Danske nyheder om magnettog

Maglev-news in English from the Schiller Institute

The LaRouche Show from  November 24 on Mag-Lev and big projects

Executive Intelligence Review article on Mag-lev and Danish election

Major Copenhagen daily Berlingske Tidende publishes interview with Tom Gillesberg on election day

Nov. 8: maglev-on the move-in germany

Translation of press coverage of Tom Gillesberg, independent candidate for Parliament

Executive Intelligence Review article: Danish Campaign for Maglev Picks Up Speed October 26, 2007

Executive Intelligence Review article: Vitus Bering and the Rediscovery of America September 26, 2007

Breakthrough for Maglev in Germany September 26, 2007

Schiller Institute conference report September 15-16, 2007

Executive Intelligence Review article: Fifty-Year Program Inspires Denmark August 8, 2007

Executive Intelligence Review article: Danes Tell Germans: Build Great Projects August7, 2007

Lyndon LaRouche's comments to Denmark on big infrastructure projects August 7, 2007

Op-ed by Tom Gillesberg in the biggest Danish daily Jyllands-Posten July 30. 2007

Michelle & Poul Rasmussen from Danish LaRouche campaign on U.S. LaRouche Show Today July 21, 2007

Executive Intelligence Review article: 'Danish Bridge' to Germany To Be Built, July 17, 2007

Executive Intelligence Review article: Danish Maglev Plan Challenges Germany, June 28, 2007

The German national radio Deutschlandfunk covers Schiller Institute demonstration June 22, 2007

German daily die Welt covers Schiller Institute Maglev proposal June 21, 2007

Translation of op-ed by Tom Gillesberg in Jyllands-Posten den 21. juni 2007

Schiller Institute Demonstrates for Bridge Between Denmark and Germany at German Embassy June 19, 2007

Debate On Maglev Technology Rages: Denmark (from EIR Strategic Alert April 26, 2007)

April 23 Copenhagen (EIRNS)--The internet version of {Jyllands-Posten} published an article reporting on a Schiller Institute press release clarifying its estimate of the costs of constructing a direct maglev link between Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark's two largest cities, separated by the North Sea strait, Kattegat. It was not totally clear in Danish Transportation Miniser Flemming Hansen's answer to the Danish parliament, if the Schiller Institute's cost estimate was only for the Copenhagen-Århus stretch, or the entire proposed national network.  Since Hansen's only objection to the Schiller Institute's proposal was the cost, it is significant that the Aarhus-based {Jyllands-Posten}, Denmark's largest newspaper, takes up the question. [See article on http://www.jp.dk/aar/artikel:aid=4363336/]

Institute: Minister Is Wrong About the Cost for Maglev 

by Jens Kurt Joergensen 

The Transportation Minister has exaggerated the price for a maglev connection across the Kattegat, thinks the Schiller Institute.

If a connection across the Kattegat is built, so that a super-fast maglev track can be established between Aarhus and Copenhagen, it will `only' cost 65 billion Danish kroner (DKK), and maybe significantly less. 

That is what Tom Gillesberg, the chairman of the Schiller Institute said, who originally launched the idea about the fast connection already last year.

Cost for the Whole Network

He thinks that Transportation Minister Flemming Hansen (Conservative Party) has exaggerated the pricetag for such a connection, in his latest answer to Folketing's [parliament] Traffic Committee concerning this.

 "'In the Minister's answer to the Folketing's Traffic Committee on April 16, where he considered a Danish maglev network, which, among other things, will connect Aarhus with Copenhagen in a half-hour, as possible, but too expensive, he mentioned that the Schiller Institute has set a cost for it at DKK190 billion. It is important to nail down that the cost is an estimate comprising a 635 km national maglev network, not just for the Copenhagen-Aarhus line, which will be a lot cheaper,' Tom Gillesberg points out. 

In the Schiller Institute's own proposal, the 180 km connection, which will reduce the travel time from Aarhus to Copenhagen to 25 minutes, will cost about DKK65 billion.

The Experience of Shanghai

That is divided between DKK40 billion for a 46-km Kattegat bridge connection, across, or south of Samsoe, and DKK25 billion for the rest of the 134 km. line,' explains Tom Gillesberg.

He adds that the price includes the cost of building stations, etc., based on the price it cost to build the maglev in the Chinese city Shanghai.

 "'But with the experience from there, maybe it will be shown that it can be significantly cheaper, just as it may also be possible to build a combined maglev and highway bridge across the Kattegat, as happened across the Oeresund [from Copenhagen to Malmoe],' adds Tom Gillesberg.

The Schiller Institute therefore proposes that the Traffic Ministry make a more detailed study, which can give a more exact estimate of the cost.

 

Jyllands-Posten Editorial Says "Great ideas can be suffocated by small people" 

April 23, Copenhagen (EIRNS)--The Jyllands-Posten editorized today in his Aarhus section for building the Kattegat Bridge. While not mentioning the Schiller Institute or its maglev proposal, the Aarhus-based newspaper called for building the very connection the Schiller Institute has been calling for, in order to construct the 25-minute maglev link between Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city. 

Entitled "To Build a Bridge," the editorial states that the fastest route to Scandinavia, the Baltics, and farther east, would be to build this bridge. It states that the Aarhus Mayor Nicolai Wammen (Social Democratic Party) and Peter Thyssen, (Social Liberal Party) the traffic spokesman for the city council, are leading the fight to get the government and the infrastructure commission to make this a priority, and negotiate its adoption at the same time as the proposed new connection to Germany, across the Fehmer Belt. 

"Great ideas can be suffocated by small people, but that ought not happen in this case," it writes, and calls for a study of the project. It also calls for all of the mayors and business people in central and northern Jutland to back up the idea and pressure the government to adopt it. [mr_] 

 

Maglev discussed on Copenhagen Radio

April 23 Copenhagen (EIRNS)--Danish Schiller Institute Chairman Tom Gillesberg appeared on greater Copenhagen Radio about Maglev, Gore and Lyndon LaRouches upcoming webcast for three hours. 

During the first hour of the Radio Karen talk show, Tom was able to give a full description of our national Danish maglev plan and its reception by the parliament, Transportation Minister, and the press. He also spoke about modern infrastructure as an economic growth-driver, the exciting international developments, including the Russia's proposed Bering Strait connection, negotiations in Iran, etc. He counterposed this to the zero-growth global warming agenda being pushed by Al Gore, and about how this was deflecting the Democratic Party opposition to the Bush Administration's policies. 

Tom was able to announce the May 1 LaRouche webcast many times. Because of the next guest cancelled, what would have normally been a one-hour call-in segment was expanded to two full hours. Here, Tom fielded many listeners' questions, and a couple of Schiller Institute chapter members. Questions and comments ranged from people who became enthusiastic about our program, and what it will mean for the future, to those stuck in thick, pessimistic mud. One woman admitted that she had demonstrated against building the Oresund bridge, which connects Copenhagen and Malmoe, Sweden, but after seeing its beneficial effects, now supports the bridge, and our proposal as well. 

A man called in to say that we ought to go back to the horse and buggy days, to which Tom responded by urging him to free himself from his 68er blinders. One man wanted to know, if this technology is so good, why isn't it in use in the U.S.A.? Tom responded that although he is pro-American, the recent American policy has been horrible -- that a nation which did, and should be leading the world as a modern industrial nation, was giving up its production, and pursuing a war policy, and then he detailed the LaRouche movement's activities. 

A Schiller Institute organizer called in and announced that Jyllands-Posten, Denmark's largest newspaper, had an editorial in their Aarhus edition today, while not mentioning the maglev idea, endorsed the idea of building a new connection across the Kattegat from Sjelland, the island Copenhagen his on, to the Jutland mainland in the area of Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city. (see accompanying slugs). 

During the three-hour program, Tom was able to discuss many topics, including the fraud of the global warming, the U.S. Presidential candidates, and the immortal purpose of life. [mr_]

 

COPENHAGEN, April 18 (EIRNS) -- DENMARK'S SCHILLER INSTITUTE HAS RECEIVED THE TRAFFIC MINISTER'S RESPONSE TO PARLIAMENT REGARDING OUR MAGLEV PLAN. 

    The letter reads (in translation): 

    "It is rare to receive a proposal on the scale the Schiller Institute lays out in its communication of March 21, about constructing a national maglev network. 

    "It will probably be technologically possible to construct a maglev, which could cover the distance between Copenhagen and Aarhus in about a half hour, but the costs will be very high. The proponents themselves speak about an investment of 150 billion kroner, plus a Kattegat connection of about DKK40 billion. The depreciation and interest alone will run to more than DKK10 billion a year, before operating and maintenance costs are considered. 

    "The construction of a maglev was thoroughly investigated in the 1990s, for a line that would connect Hamburg and Berlin. Despite the willingness of the German government to extend a very significant [monetary] contribution to the project, based on commerce and industry-political considerations, the project was given up because it was way too costly relative to the benefits. When it could not pay to establish the project between two such large metropoli as Hamburg and Berlin, based on the given premises, I do not consider it of current interest to work to introduce the technology here in this country." 

    His reference to Kattegat connection is the strait between the island of Sjelland, where Copenhagen is located, and the Jutland peninsula, where Aarhus is located. [mr_] 

April 17, 2007: Schiller Institute present MagLev to Danish Parliament: 2-page version in  Executive Intelligence Review

April  12, 2007: Schiller Institute present maglev proposal to Trafic Commision of the Danish parliament

March 30, 2007: Danish Schiller Institute's Maglev Proposal Sets Debate: 2-page version in  Executive Intelligence Review 

March 30, 2007:Danish Schiller Institute's Maglev Proposal Sets Debate: short version in  EIR Strategic Alert

 

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF ARTICLES IN THE DANISH PRESS ABOUT

THE SCHILLER INSTITUTE'S

MAGNETIC LEVITATION (MAGLEV) NETWORK FOR DENMARK

The oldest articles are at the bottom.

April 19, 2007: Danish Engineering paper covers the Traffic Minster's rejection of a Danish maglevnet and Schiller Institute response

 

[source: www.nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-6702646.html, written by "dabu"] 

COPENHAGEN, April 18 (EIRNS) -- DENMARK'S TV2 HAS THE TRANSPORTATION MINISTER'S RESPONSE TO THE SCHILLER MAGLEV PLAN ON ITS INERNET EDITION AND TEXT TV. TV2 has the largest audience in the country. 

Headline: "Maglev Doesn't Entice the Minister." 

Text: "A 25-minute travel time between Copenhagen and Aarhus sounds enticing. But Transportation Minister Flemming Hansen (Conservative Party) doesn't think that it's realistic to consider if the maglev could be a part of the future infrastructure of Denmark. 

"It is the Schiller Institute that is behind the proposal. It will cost 150 billion kroner, plus a new Great Belt Bridge [between the islands of Zealand and Funen] across Samsoe [island in the Kattegat]. But for DKK190 billion, Denmark would have the country's two largest cities closely tied together. The travel time from Aalborg to Copenhagen would, for example, be 45 minutes. 

"In response to the Parliament's Traffic Committee, Flemming Hansen writes that Germany had earlier investigated the possibility of connecting Hamburg and Berlin by a maglev link, but it was too expensive relative to the benefits. 

"'When it could not pay to establish the project between two such large metropoli as Hamburg and Berlin, based on the given premises, I do not consider it of current interest to work to introduce the technology here in this country,' writes the Transportation Minister." [mr_] 

 

[source:Dato 19.4.7, tv2 Nord 18.4.7, ritzau, 24 Timer 19.4.7] 

COPENHAGEN, April 19 -- MORE PROMINENT PRESS COVERAGE FOR DANISH SCHILLER INSTITUTE MAGLEV PLAN AFTER TRANSPORTATION MINISTER'S RESPONSE.  Ritzau, the only national Danish wire service, on a par with AP and UPI in the U.S., wrote a wire story about Danish Transportation Minister Flemming Hansen's rejection of the Schiller Institute maglev proposal, in his answer to the Danish Parliament.  This was monitored due to a story on the website of TV2's regional station in the north, TV2 Nord, with a fuller version of the same article as TV2. Today, the widely read free newspaper {Dato}, ironically on the last day of its existence, devoted a third of page 6 with an article, and picture (of the wrong type of train), with a slightly different version of the Ritzau release. This newspaper is delivered to homes in greater Copenhagen and Aarhus. In addition, another free newspaper, 24 Hours (24 Timer) has a short version of the Ritzau release on the bottom of page 2. [mr_]

 

[source: www.skyscrapercity.com]

COPENHAGEN, Mar. 26 -- EXTENSIVE DEBATE ON INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE INTERNET PAGE ABOUT SCHILLER INSTITUTE'S PROGRAM FOR A DANISH NATIONAL MAGELV NET HIS INTERNATIONAL. The homepage, about skyscrapers and urban development, called skyscrapercity.com has the debate, including large pictures of the Google Earth maps we made. at:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=12281778

 

COPENHAGEN, March 21 -- DANISH ENGINEERS BRING LYNDON LAROUCHE, THE EURASIAN LAND-BRIDGE, AND THE SCHILLER INSTITUTE'S  CALL FOR SENDING OUT ENGINEERS, NOT SOLDIERS, INTO THE DANISH MAGLEV DEBATE

http://ing.dk/article/20070321/MILJO/70321004/-1/senesteuge, by Thomas Djursing, Mar. 21, 2007

Magnetic Levitation Train (Maglev) with 431 km/hour across the Kattegat

The travel time from Copenhagen to Aarhus can be whittled down to 25 minutes, if Denmark builds a maglev track across the Kattegat -- a new proposal from the political organization the Schiller Institute.

There is just about time to read the newspaper, if the dream about a maglev from Aarhus to Copenhagen becomes a reality.

If the political organization, the Schiller Institute, has anything to say about it, Danes should do like Shanghai, and invest in a maglev, with a top speed of 431 km/hr.

According to the chairman of the Danish branch of the organization, Tom Gillesberg, Denmark should build a connection across the Kattegat, with tracks for the so-called maglev. That will reduce the travel time from Copenhagen to Aarhus from three-and-a-quarter hours to 25 minutes. That’s the time it takes to go on the S-tog (city metro) from Vanloese to Svanemoellen.

The maglevs, which are already in use between Shanghai and Shanghai’s airport in China, are called the Transrapid Maglev.

The train hangs in a magnetic field between the tracks and the train’s powerful magnet. This eliminates vibrations, friction and wear and tear. At the same time, propulsion, breaking and stability control are found in the whole length of the train.

Dreams about a European maglev track network

The Schiller Institute’s vision doesn’t stop with a single connection between Aarhus and Copenhagen. The dream is a European network of maglevs, where Denmark ought to lead this development.

Over the next 25 years, a 625 km. net ought to be built, for a price of about 150 billion [Danish crowns, ca. 7 DKK to 1 euro], says Tom Gillesberg to Jyllands-Posten.

"Denmark should, just like future American governments, establish strong ties to Germany and Eurasian countries, and join in building up the Eurasian continent. We should act as bridge builders and offer engineering troops, instead of fighting troops,' writes a newsletter from the Schiller Institute organization.

The organization is an international political movement, which closely cooperates with the American economist and former Democratic Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche.

SF (The Socialist People’s Party): Build high-speed trains, but drop the bridge

SF is ready to invest in high-speed trains, but wants to drop all plans for bridges across both the Fehmer Belt and the Kattegat.

“A new bridge between Zealand and Jutland will be a gigantic investment, and there is a great probability that that will lead to significantly more cars on the roads. Instead of that construction, we ought to invest in a high-speed connection between the different parts of the country across the existing bridge,” says Poul Henrik Hedeboe, the traffic spokesman for SF, in a press release.

Link to the Schiller Institute’s proposal for a maglev

Link to the SI’s projected Maglev timetable

The website includes a debate underneath the article. The first begins with, "Finally, a usable proposal," and argues for making sure that a European-wide standardized maglev system is adopted before construction, to enable travel on a network from here to Vladivostok. The second, longs for the old ferries to return; the third complains that Jyllands-Posten and ing.dk have cited the Schiller Institute ,  and the fourth complains that maglev technology uses too much energy which will create CO2.

The article and debate can be seen at: www.ing.dk/article/20070321/MILJO/70321004

Further coverage includes:

Jubii News, the Danish version of Yahoo, has a link to the www.ing.dk article.

Denmark Online has a link to the website Danmarks Radio Oest Jylland, the eastern Jutland affiliate of the national TV network DR, which has an article about the proposal, without mentioning the SI.

www.aarhus.dk has a link to Jyllands-Posten's second article, which includes the positive response from Aarhus' mayor. There is also coverage on a page for sustainable energy.

 

[source: Berlingske Tidende, Mar. 24, 2007, by Sonny Wichmann]

COPENHAGEN, March 24 -- LONG-TERM CAPITAL BUDGET DISCUSSION HITS {BERLINGSKE TIDENDE} INTERVIEW WITH TOM GILLESBERG IN MAGLEV DEBATE.

Berlingske Tidende is one of the three major newspapers in Denmark. Here is he text of the interview, which includes a thumbnail picture of  Tom Gillesberg.

Answer the Charges

Copenhagen-Aarhus in 25 Minutes

The Schiller Institute's Danish chairman Tom Gillesberg suggests to the Parliament's Traffic Committee, that a super maglev should be built, so you can go from Copenhagen to Aarhus in less than a half an hour.

Q: You propose that Denmark should build a maglev, so that you can travel from Copenhagen to Aarhus in 25 minutes. It is April Fool's day next Sunday! A: It is as realistic as the fact that every day, many of these trains run between Shanghai and Shanghai airport. It takes 7 minutes and 20 sec. to travel the 30 km. We need a high-speed train here in Denmark. You can do that by improving the existing network, and can save 10 minutes here and there. But instead of choosing a relatively outdated technology such as the IC4, you can choose a future-secured technology.

Q: It sounds wild, that you can go to Aarhus in less than a half-hour. A: But, you can actually do that. You can build a connection over the Kattegat, and then we're talking about a route of ca. 180 km. Nonstop, it would take under a half an hour. If there are five stops, it would maybe take 55 minutes.

Q: You estimate that a full maglev of 635 km will cost 150 billion Danish kroner. And then, there is DKK40 billion over and above that for a Kattegat connection. That's a lot of money! A: The investment is the beginning is very high. But, in return, it is much cheaper to run the line in the next 50 years. There are lower maintenance and operating costs, because the maglev trains float, so you don't have the same wear and tear on the tracks.

Q: What will a ticket cost, in order to cover the infrastructure investment? A: If you do the same thing as with the big bridges, and finance it with bridge tolls, then it will be a luxury project. We recommend that the state pay for the network over 50 years, just like the state has paid for the highway network. Then, users will cover the actual operation costs.

Q: You don't see any problems in this? A: There is just one thing. You have to think long-term. It is something that should be done, because it is for the benefit for all of us over the long-term.

 

COPENHAGEN, March 23--SCHILLER INSTITUTE IN DENMARK'S NATIONAL MAGLEV PROPOSAL, IS NOW AN OFFICIAL PARLIAMENTARY DOCUMENT FOUND ON THE HOMEPAGE OF THE TRAFFIC COMMITTEE for consideration. See: www.ft.dk/samling/20061/almdel/TRU/Bilag/322/358937.htm

 

COPENHAGEN, March 23--SCHILLER INSTITUTE MAGLEV COVERAGE CONTINUES.

Today, the Schiller Institute monitored the following additional coverage:

* TV2 North's homepage printed the Schiller Institute's press release. This is the TV station for northern Jutland. www.tv2nord.dk/ default.asp?PageID=5&NewsCategoryID=1&NewsID=140629

{Take Off}, the travel magazine of Scandinavia, has the {Jyllands-Posten} article on their internet page: www.takeoff.dk/news.cfm?nNewsWeekly=0&nNewsId=10879

Two other websites have run the Schiller Institute's story: that of the national telephone company, and a website for trade associations.

 

[sources: Jyllands-Posten, March 22, 2007, by Jens Kurt Joergensen and Martin Johansen ]

COPENHAGEN, March 22 (EIRNS)--THERE'S SOMETHING BUZZING IN THE STATE OF DENMARK.

The maglev buzz is really increasing inside high-level political circles, after Jyllands-Posten published an article in its Internet magazine about the Schiller Institute's proposal for a national maglev network, including a connection between Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city. Today a follow-up article on the front page of Jyllands-Posten's Aarhus edition, which is handed out as a free newspaper there, and on a website, shows that the idea of a maglev in Denmark is really the talk of the town. A (so-called) future researcher, Jesper Bo Jensen, Aarhus Mayor Nicolai Wammen (Soc. Dem.), and a member of the government's infrastructure commission Prof. Christian W. Matthiesen, weigh in. Aarhus' other big newspaper, {Aarhus Stiftstidende} also had an article today.

In addition, yesterday Radio Silkeborg, a local station that covers Aarhus, called into the office and interviewed Tom. Yesterday's JP online article has now been posted on a Norwegian website that assembles all the significant news from Norwegian sources. It is also the front page of a private person's blog in Denmark.

Here's an abridged translation of today's JP article:

Aarhus could become a suburb of Copenhagen

by Jens Kurt Joergensen and Martin Johansen.

If a magnetic train line is built on a bridge over Kattegat strait [connecting the mainland Jutland, to the largest island Zealand, where Copenhagen is], the travel time between Aarhus and Copenhagen could be brought down to less than a half-hour. Then Aarhus will become a suburb of Copenhagen, thinks a future researcher. Mayor Nicolai Wammen sees great possibilities for both cities, if the plans become reality.

Excerpts: The transportation proposal, published in www.jp.dk yesterday, has already created significant attention. But what effect will it have on Aarhus, if such a proposal becomes reality? "We have already seen how young, well-to-do Copenhageners, with a job in the city, move to better and cheaper housing on the Swedish side of the Oeresund [between Sweden and Denmark]. There is a risk that the same thing will happen on a larger scale, if a permanent connection to Aarhus and East Jutland, with travel time way under an hour, becomes reality. Then Aarhus will become a suburb of Copenhagen, and this will cost the capital dearly," says the future researcher Jesper Bo Jensen....

 - For the benefit of all -

Aarhus Mayor Nicolai Wammen (Soc. Dem.) believes that both Aarhus and Copenhagen will benefit from a fast connection. "It will give a great flexibility in relation to, for example, living in Aarhus and working in Copenhagen. If the travel time is brought substantially down, whole new possibilities are created, in connection with meetings, studies, family visits, cultural experiences and shopping, between the two Danish growth centers. It will have colossal signification," says the mayor, who is not excited about the idea of Aarhus becoming a suburb of Copenhagen. "Aarhus is much more than that," he points out.

However, many of the comments about the plans that the newspaper has received, point out that the plan for the bridge over the Kattegat is hardly realistic. That also goes for Professor of Geography and Regional Development Christian W. Matthiesen, who is a member of the government's Infrastructure Commission. He points out that Aarhus is already becoming a center in a mega-city, which, in several years, will be a reality, along the E 45 highway from Renders to Kolding [north and south of Aarhus]. "Therefore, the orientation should be southwards, and traffic investments in that direction should be the priority, with electrified high-speed trains and highway expansion," explains Christian W. Matthiesen. [end excerpts]

Coverage in {Aarhus Stiftstidende} ran under the headline "Aarhus-Copenhagen in 25 Minutes" and a nice maglev picture. The article says 25 minutes to Aarhus would be like a dream, but Jesper Bo Jensen warns, that people should hesitate about getting too excited. "Politicians and those with power in Copenhagen will try to block it and work against having Aarhus be a serious challenge to the capital. If we get the connection, Aarhus would be a power and development center on a par with Copenhagen. That would change the way government spending is distributed, which favors Copenhagen today." Wammen and Maththiesen are also quoted. www.jp.dk/aar/ artikel:aid=4312166/

 Aarhus Stiftstidende March 22 by Niki Ranch Nielsen; www.stiften.dk/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/20070322/STIFTEN /103221148/1273/STIFTEN

 

[source: Jyllands-Posten's internet version March 20,  2007, by Lars From. http://www.jp.dk/indland/artikel:aid=4308762/]

JYLLANDS-POSTEN COVERS SCHILLER INSTITUTE PROPOSAL FOR DANISH NATIONAL MAGLEV, on the front page of its Internet edition.

The article, published this afternoon, is a follow-up to their March 18 coverage of the proposal to build a new bridge to link Denmark's two largest cities, Copenhagen and Aarhus, by traffic researcher Uffe Jacobsen (see accompanying slug). However, in July 2006, Denmark's Schiller Institute had published a proposal for a national maglev system, to be linked to the Eurasian Land-Bridge, which included the need to build such a new bridge/tunnel, in our first 50,000-run campaign newspaper (1% of Denmark's population), distributed over the next couple of months. In November, six mayors called for an unambitious, national, moderate high-speed system. In December, we published the second 50,000-run campaign newspaper, including on the front-page, "Denmark's Future: From Crusaders to Bridge-Builders," emphasizing the Femern Belt connection.

Train from Aarhus to Copenhagen: 25 min.,

by Lars From

Do as in Shanghai and build a magnetic train from Aarhus to Copenhagen, is a new proposal. It could sound like a fantasy story, but it isn't."

A photo of a maglev is captioned: "In Shanghai, the trains run at 431 km/hour. Transferred to Denmark, that will mean 25 minutes travel time between Aarhus and Copenhagen."

A box with a maglev photo, reads "Links: See the amazing timetable here" and links to the envisioned timetable for a stretch of the Danish national maglev system, from our July 2006 Schiller Institute campaign newspaper #1.

In Shanghai, they have taken a leap and invested in an extremely fast maglev with an normal top speed of 431 km/hour. We ought to invest in such a train, thinks the Schiller Institute, a political organization with branches throughout the world, including Denmark. The Danish chairman, Tom Gillesberg, says, "We think that a maglev from Aarhus to Copenhagen should be seriously considered. It is certainly a very big investment in infrastructure, but in return, it will give us a quantum leap into the future regarding traffic." In Shanghai, it takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to travel the 30 km. to the city's airport. With a maglev line via Samsoe [the island in the Kattegat Sea between the Danish Jutland mainland and the island of Zealand, where Copenhagen is located], Kalundborg, and Roskilde, the trip from Aarhus to Copenhagen would take 25 minutes, the Schiller Institute has calculated.

According to Tom Gillesberg, it will cost about 40 billion kroner to build a maglev line across the Kattegat Sea. He envisions a 21 km. tunnel from Roesnaes just north of Kalundburg to Grydenaes Odde on Samsoe, and then a 25 km. low bridge to Hov, southeast of Odder. "If you really want to think ahead, let's decide to build a maglev train network throughout Denmark over the next 25 years. Such a 635 km. network will cost about DKK150 billion to build. It will make Holbaek and Kalundborg into suburbs of Copenhagen, and really make the shift from roads to rails," says Tom Gillesberg. He thinks that there can certainly be trains at 5- or 10-minute intervals on such a line, just as he pictures that a station can be built on Samsoe, among other places.

- Travel time Copenhagen-Samsoe: 42 minutes -

The Institute has already made a proposal for a timetable, which also shows that it would take 43 minutes to travel from Copenhagen to Aalborg. The proposal, which actually was already worked out last summer, is appearing now since traffic researcher Uffe Jacobsen, in the morning edition of Jyllands-Posten, proposed to build a new bridge between Kalundborg and Jutland via Samsoe.

A proposal which, today, has caused SF [the Socialist People's Party] to propose dropping both the Femern bridge [to the German mainland] and the new bridge via Samsoe, and instead, count on a high-speed train, like that in Spain, Germany and France.