A majority of politicians in Copenhagen back plans for an expanded new M5 Metro line that would extend the reach of the underground rail service in the city, the Copenhagen Municipality finance committee said in a press statement.

The city has agreed to move forward with future extension of the Metro to several new parts of Copenhagen, it said in the statement.

Future extension of the new M5 line could eventually see it reach Swedish city Malmö.

Copenhagen’s city council is working on a plan to build a Metro connection to Refshaleøen, a former docks to the south of the city centre, and then to Lynetteholm, a major construction project which is already underway to create a giant artificial island.

Lynetteholm, a brand new island, is being built to protect Copenhagen’s harbour waters from rising sea levels while also providing homes for 35,000 people.

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Two potential new Metro lines have been in public hearing: one which connects Copenhagen Central Station to Lynetteholm via Amagerbrogade and Refshaleøen; and one from Østerport station in the east of the city to the same destination.

The parties behind the agreement to develop on the Metro have settled on the former option, which will have 10 stations including a stop at Østerport.

“Copenhagen must have a lot more Metro to take the strain from public transport and connect the city in a green, sustainable and social way,” Copenhagen city mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen said in the statement.

“That’s why I’m pleased that a majority at City Hall has decided to move forwards with a new M5 line that will be finished in 2035 and ensure a Metro to Refshaleøen and Lynetteholm,” she said.

The municipality’s finance committee is scheduled to meet later this month. This is to finalise decisions over the M5 line and will also involve discussions of other extensions of the line in future.

Further discussions on Metro extensions will form part of a municipal plan to be published in 2024, the city council said in the statement.

The M5 line will be constructed in stages with the first sections to open in 2035, according to the plan. It will require 14.7 billion kroner in financing, the municipality states.

By choosing the version of M5 that goes across Amager, a potential link to Malmö across the Øresund Bridge appears to be an option that remains in play.

“I think it is very logical that we begin now to look into how we get Metro to other neighbourhoods. That could be Nordvest, Frederiksberg and Hvidovre – and in the long term, towards Malmö,” Andersen said.

In comments to Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan, Mayor of Malmö Municipality Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh called the decision in Copenhagen “very positive”.

“This is not a decision about an Öresund Metro – but it is an important step. A decision on the route of the M5 in Copenhagen’s equivalent to the municipal board is expected in the coming weeks,” she said.

Several more stages in the political process must be fulfilled before ground is broken on the M5.

It must be approved in both the Copenhagen municipal council and by the Danish parliament and pass an environmental consequence assessment, which will also go to public hearing before a law is passed and the project authorised. Following this, a contractor must be found for the construction.

A potential line to Malmö would also require approval from the Swedish parliament.

The new line is scheduled to be constructed between 2025-2034, opening in 2035.