Residents face eight more years of metro construction
Wednesday 11th November 2026 on 08:01 in
Denmark
Residents near Copenhagen Central Station face another prolonged period of metro construction, after enduring about a decade of work on earlier lines, DR reports.
Lars Bo Petersen, who has lived near the station for 27 years, was among the closest neighbours to construction of metro lines M3 and M4, including the City Circle Line, which opened in 2019. He described that period as extremely difficult and said he was distressed at the prospect of going through it again.
The Danish parliament is due to hold the first reading of the construction bill for line M5, which is also planned to have a station at Copenhagen Central Station. The project is expected to bring eight more years of construction for residents in the neighbourhood.
Petersen said machinery had stood just 15 centimetres from windows and walls, while drilling rigs reached 20 metres in height. Dust and diesel fumes made it difficult to open windows, he said, and residents endured constant lorry traffic and pump alarms at night. A beam once went through his window, while concrete was pumped into a neighbour’s basement.
He would prefer the M5 construction to be moved, but said that proposal had not received support. He is also calling for greater compensation, suggesting either monthly payments based on rent for a comparable home in a similar neighbourhood, or the option for residents to sell their homes at the average market value for such a property.
“The project should of course go ahead. But people do not have to be run over in the process,” Petersen said.
The Metro Company, which is responsible for construction and dialogue with neighbours, described the situation for residents by the station as difficult. Its head of land, rights and urban development, Mathias Mark Bornæs, said metro construction was complex and would inevitably cause some disruption.
The company is planning a neighbour support package similar to the one used during construction of the City Circle Line. It will set out options including compensation, relief measures and temporary rehousing.