The possibilities of maglev
Jun 21 2007 By William Green, The Journal
The Journal yesterday highlighted calls for the region to look towards Scotland to develop a North of Britain `super-region.' Political Editor William Green looks at how a stunning bridge in Scandinavia could provide vital lessons in how to join two countries for the good of both.
The Malmo-Copenhagen bridge is an impressive achievement by anyone's standards.
Not only is it a remarkable engineering feat that links two countries across the sea, but it is also transforming the fortunes of both the Swedish and Danish sides of the stunning £5.8bn road and rail link.
It is the bridge's economic power that could hold vital lessons for the region amid calls for a North Britain `super-region' linked up to a revolutionary high-speed rail connection being developed in Scotland.
Experts say 311-mph maglev technology could allow the North to finally challenge the economic might of London by transforming transport links.
Scottish officials have decided such a rail service, which uses magnets, is the best option for a new high-speed link between Glasgow and Edinburgh with journeys cut to just 12 minutes - with research suggesting it would help pull in another £500m of annual inward investment.
Newcastle-Edinburgh trips would take 35 minutes, while Liverpool could be reached in an hour and London in 100 minutes if the £16bn system was extended.
As an example of how transport can transform a region, the Scandinavian link has led the way.
The journey between Malmo and Copenhagen has been transformed since it was built seven years ago. Some 3.5 million people who previously would have had to go by sea are now within an easy 30-minute drive or rail journey from the other side.
The Danish-Swedish company behind the bridge also says it has helped tackle unemployment in Malmo - Sweden's third largest city - and the surrounding area as well as a labour shortage in Copenhagen, Denmark's Capital.
Furthermore, residents priced out of the expensive Copenhagen housing market have been able to live and buy homes in Sweden - where property is less expensive - with 16,000 commuters using the bridge daily. The bridge company, owned by both countries' Governments, says the link has boosted hi-tech business and the quality of life of residents in the new cross-country region called Oresund.
The Oresund Consortium does admit some people think the toll to use the bridge is too expensive, while rail companies have to pay a fixed fee to use it, but stresses the money raised is used to pay off loans used to build the link.
The two countries have also agreed to compensate each other for lost tax revenue, with Denmark currently paying Sweden because more commuters work and pay tax within its borders.
Supporters of maglev say it could have the same sort of economic boost in the North-East with people from Newcastle able to access jobs in the financial sector in Edinburgh in just 35 minutes.
Northumberland-based Alan James, of UK maglev champions Ultraspeed, said the bridge combined two previously separate economies into a single stronger region - which was exactly what maglev could do for the North of Britain.
Dr James added that the Oresund region was now in the European super-league for inward investment whereas the old two separate economies used to only be mid-ranking performers.
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A model of joined up transport thinking
Politicians and business leaders yesterday heralded the Scandinavian link as a classic model of how to invigorate two separate places by joined up transport thinking.
Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland said: "It is a classic demonstration of how improving transport links between regions, and in this case countries, can transform their economies to the benefit of both sides." The Labour MP, a member of the Commons transport committee, said it would be great if the North-East linked up to Scotland via a maglev system which could extend to the Midlands and London.
"I am quite sure the South-East which is becoming congested and uncomfortable to live in would welcome some relief to the pressures they are having to suffer by making it easier for business and people to live in other parts of the country but still have easy access to the centre of the economy and Government," added Mr Clelland.
He also urged ministers to be forward-thinking and look seriously at maglev by carrying out a proper assessment of its costs and benefits.
Ross Smith, the North-East Chamber of Commerce's head of policy and research, said: "This seems an excellent lesson in how top-quality transport links can play a part in encouraging economic growth.
"The North-East suffers from sub-standard links both within the region and to other regions that we could be doing business with, and a project such as a maglev line could be truly transformational."
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Bridge to prosperity is a Nordic success story
The Oresund Bridge has sparked the development of a new European region.
Called the Oresund region it has Denmark's capital Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden's third largest city, as the two hubs.
The results are being felt from where people live, are educated, shop, spend their leisure time and, vitally, how hi-tech business is taking advantage of the development of a common labour and property market on the two sides.
The company behind the bridge says this is highlighted by the number of international businesses that have based their Nordic centres in the region or expanded operations in the area.
And the Oresund region has now become one of Europe's strongest performers, with a fifth of Denmark and Sweden's joint national wealth produced in the area. The bridge has also provided a job boost for both countries, according to bridge company Oresund Consortium, with most of the commuters travelling from Sweden.
"The main reason is that there is a lack of employees in Copenhagen and there are more people unemployed in the Malmo area. The wages are higher in Copenhagen than in Malmo.
"Furthermore, the housing costs are lower in Malmo. Many people find it very economic to live in Sweden and work in Denmark," said a company spokesman.
"The bridge is improving both the life quality and economy in the region that is the southern part of Sweden and Copenhagen. New enterprises are finding it easier to access markets in the wake of the opening of the bridge, with the firms regarding both Sweden and Denmark as their own home markets."
Kevin McGwin, managing editor of the Copenhagen Post, said: "It has had the effect that it has opened south Sweden as a suburb of Copenhagen.
"It has helped create a larger region but it has allowed people who would have had trouble buying a house in the area to continue to work in Copenhagen."
Mr McGwin said a regional identity was beginning to emerge, especially with Danes moving to southern Sweden on the other side of the bridge. He added that a "classic example" was the development of the region's `Medicon Valley' which pharmaceutical companies from both sides of the link have come together to create.
Mr McGwin said Medicon Valley has established itself as the Nordic area's most important pharmaceutical and biotechnology centre, attracting a large number of foreign companies as well.
Nineteen new biotech businesses started up in 2004 alone, adding to the region's already significant science and research base. More than 20 universities and institutes of higher learning, 140,000 students and 12,000 researchers are based in the region as well.
