| København – Fredericia / Taulov | |
| Type: | Main line |
| Start: | Copenhagen Central |
| End: | , |
| Operator: | DSB Railion CFL Cargo[1] |
| Linelength: | 220.6 km (Fredericia branch) 222.6 km (Taulov branch) |
| Tracks: | Double Quadruple (Høje Taastrup–Roskilde)[2] |
| Speed: | 160 km/h 180 km/h (certified multiple units only)[3] |
The Copenhagen–Fredericia/Taulov Line is the Danish railway line between the capital, Copenhagen, and the Jutland peninsula by way of the islands of Zealand and Funen. It is administered by Banedanmark and has a length of about . Being one of the main arteries of the Danish railway network, it has double track and is fully electrified.
The line is composed of the railway line across Zealand (the West Line) and the main line across Funen (the Funen Main Line), both of which were built during the mid-19th century. Originally connected by the Great Belt ferries, these two lines were joined in 1997 by the Great Belt Fixed Link.
The first section of the railway line, the railway line from Copenhagen to Roskilde, opened in 1847 as the first railway line in the Kingdom of Denmark. It was built for the privately owned Det Sjællandske Jernbaneselskab (English: the Zealand Railway Company) by British engineering company William Radford. The railway line was ceremonially opened on 26 June 1847, and the following day the railway opened to regular traffic with three trains daily in each direction. The Copenhagen–Roskilde railway line was prolonged from Roskilde to the port city of Korsør by the Great Belt in 1856.[4]
The railway line across the island of Funen from Nyborg by the Great Belt via to Middelfart by the Little Belt opened in 1865. It was built by the civil engineering partnership Peto, Brassey and Betts. The socalled Queen Louise's Railway was inaugurated on Queen Louise's 48th birthday the 7 September 1865, with regular traffic commencing the following day. In Middelfart, passengers could catch the steam ferry across the Little Belt to Snoghøj in the Jutland peninsula. The following year, on 1 november 1866, a short branch line, the Middelfart–Strib railway line, opened from to the harbour at Strib 5 kilometers north of Middelfart, from where there was connection via railway ferry across the Little Belt to Fredericia in Jutland.
In 1935, with the opening of the Little Belt Bridge between Middelfart and Snoghøj, The Funen Main Line was connected directly to the railway network in Jutland at .