Femern Belt Fixed Link

Femern A/S is tasked with designing and planning of a fixed rail and road link between Denmark and Germany across the Femern Belt. Femern A/S is a subsidiary of the Danish state-owned Sund & Bælt Holding A/S, which has experience from the construction of the fixed links across the Great Belt and the Øresund. Femern Belt Fixed Link is a project with high requirements in navigation of heavy duty offshore construction equipment and precise positioning of construction elements.

Femern Belt Positioning System (FBPS) is a reference network implemented to provide correction data for these navigation and positioning tasks, based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, i.e. the American GPS, Russian GLONASS, and in future the European Galileo).

FBPS consists of four networked GNSS reference stations (two in Femern, and two in Lolland), GNSS networking software, data communications devices, redundant computing centres at two locations in Germany, and a dedicated FBPS Internet homepage, available at http://femern.axio-net.eu/.

The contract to develop and implement the FBPS was awarded to a consortium of AXIO-NET and ALLSAT by Femern A/S in summer 2009. Development and construction of the system was accompanied by Rambøll Arup JV, Copenhagen.

“AXIO-NET and ALLSAT have done an excellent job. Apart from minor adaptations to our original plan, required as a result of the ground conditions at one of the station sites and the harsh conditions in the project area during the last winter, the project was completed according to our specifications within time and budget”, says Jens Kammer, Project Manager Geotechnology at Femern A/S. “We are very pleased to have a reliable GNSS reference network in operation before the Femern Belt Fixed Link construction project itself begins. Right from start everybody in the design offices and on the construction site will use the same consistent geodetic reference with precise real-time correction data.”

The first external user of the FBPS was registered on 7 July 2010. AXIO-NET is contracted by Femern A/S to operate FBPS and provide technical support to its users during the years to come.