MILAN, September 29, 2019 – “We are proud to celebrate today the inauguration of Cityringen, and to have had the opportunity to work on such an iconic project with the government, the city and the client. When we began this challenging project eight years ago, we were a very different company, a tenth the size of what Salini Impregilo is today. But we still put every effort into the project that was envisioned by a special class of leaders for the future of their residents.” These were the words given by Salini Impregilo Chief Executive Pietro Salini in Copenhagen about Cityringen, which was inaugurated today by Her Majesty Queen of Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Transport Minister Benny Engelbrecht and Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen. 

 

“The passion and hard work that our people – both Danish and those of other nationalities - put into this project of sustainable mobility has resulted in the residents of Copenhagen being able to enjoy a unique metro that was completed on time and according to the highest standards of quality and safety. “We worked every day, side by side with the client, responding to every new request with all of our skill and experience. So I want to give thanks to all of the team behind this enormous success.” 

 

Built in just eight years, a record for projects of its kind in Europe, Cityringen offers another concept of mobility. Its circular shape (the line encircles the city centre, intersecting other metro lines and bus routes) and transport services with automated driverless trains provide a unique way to travel within Copenhagen. Thanks to a frequency rate of 80 to 100 seconds between each train, the metro line will be able to transport up to 72 million passengers a year, contributing to Copenhagen’s ambitious efforts to become the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025.  

 

Commissioned by Metroselskabet, the public entity responsible for the city’s metro network, Cityringen comprises two parallel tunnels, each 15.5 kilometres long, that run underneath the historic centre in the socalled bridge district and under the nearby municipality of Frederiksberg. Cityringen has 17 underground stations, some as deep as 30 metres. One of the biggest challenges was to build under the foundations of buildings of great historic value. The tunnel-boring machines, or TBMs, excavated under shopping areas and stations for a combined 31 kilometres, often times through complex geological formations. They arrived at only 1.5 metres under the foundations of Magasin du Nord, the department store famous in Denmark and a historic landmark in Copenhagen.  

 

A chapter of the story of this project goes to sustainability in terms of people, the environment and community involvement. About 5,000 people worked on Cityringen from 24 nationalities. Half of these were local workers and 25% were women. It was the spirit of teamwork that helped set a record in health and safety. In general terms, the accident rate was less than five times the Danish average. 

 

“Cityringen is also an example of multiculturalism and integration. My deepest thanks goes to everyone in all of their various languages for the work they did with passion and commitment. They never gave up even during the most difficult moments of the project. They are behind this enormous success. “