Understanding the Train Zones

Understanding the train zones in Denmark is necessary to master the public transportation system. The zones apply to all aspects of the public transportation infrastructure- buses, trains, metro.

Since the zone map to the right is a little small, you can either download the image by right clicking on the Map and saving as a pdf file which you can open using Adobe Acrobat. It is the same as the picture on the left, but it is a much easier to follow. You can click on the picture, which will take you a larger version of the map.

The white lines are the dividing lines between each zone. The white numbers are the zone numbers. The black names are names of the various train stations. So by looking at the map, Zone 1 is in the central part of Copenhagen/ Kobenhavn. Zone 4 includes the airport and Tarnby. Each zone in Denmark has a corresponding number. The farther out you go from the city center the higher the numbers go. There are exceptions to that, but if you look at the map, you can see there is a sort of ring extending out from the city center.

Zone 1 incorporates the city center, Zone 2 goes from Amarken (along the southern coast) to Hellerup (on the northern coast).

When get past Zone 2, you get into the 30s. These zones are smaller than Zone 1 and Zone 2. You can see that Zone 30, 31, 32 and 33 are about a 1/10 the size of Zone 2.

There are 4 zones in the 30s, 4 in the 40s, 5 in the 50s and so forth.

The zones apply to both the trains, buses and the metro. (There is no metro beyond Zone 2 except on Amager which has zone 3 and 4).

You will have to learn where these train zones are on a regular city map in order to understand which zone you are in. You can also look at any bus sign, which has the zone number printed on the card attached to the sign.

Planning Your Route

Planning your trip can be a bit complicated and I have previously tried to explain it in great detail on my site, yet I found a better way for my readers to get the correct answer each time. Below you will find a calculator that does all the work for you.

Tip: If you are traveling as a couple coming from the airport, try doing this. Buy a 2-zone klippekort at the airport. If you klip the 2-zone card 3 times - 3 klips - you have a total of 6 zones. This will be 3 zones per person. You can both travel on the same klip kort. You can now travel to Copenhagen for 37.5 kroner versus 2 normal tickets, which wold cost 60 kroner. Save three klips for your return trip to the airport when you are leaving. That still leaves 4 klips to use while in town. The card costs 125 kroner. That means each klip costs 12.5 kroner versus buying a normal ticket costing 20 kroner. Plan ahead and you can save a lot of money.

Now let's look at the zone calculator.

Zone Calculator

Even though my previous explanations were correct, there are some new exceptions, so it is best to use the MOVIA zone calculator to figure out how many zones you need for a klippekort or normal ticket. This calculator does not apply to monthly passes.

Let me show you how to use the calculator. On the keyboard as seen below, you choose the zone you are starting from.

For example if you plan to leave from Kastrup Airport, it is in Zone 4. When you click on the 4, you will get a PDF download. this you can download to your computer or print it out.

Now this chart will show you how many zones you are traveling in and what type ticket you have to purchase.

This will be easier to follow if you download your own pdf file. But below is the zone map for leaving in Zone 4 (using Kastrup airport as the example). As you can see each zone has a different number, but many of the zone have the same color.

If you find Ishøj, which is located in zone 55, directly west of the zone 4, you can see it is colored orange. Yes, the color distinction is not very good.

See the example below.

In the lower right corner of your file you will see a chart similiar to one below. If you look at the top line and find the orange klippekort symbol it will have a number 6. That means you need a 6 zone klip.

The graph on the left will tell you how many klips you need depending on the type of klippekort you have. Please do not follow that too closely, because they are misleading you here.

If you are going to travel in 6 zones, do not klip 2 times on a 4 zone ticket. That is a waste of money. It would still be valid but you would be overpaying - why would anyone want to do that.

That means you used a 8 zone ticket ( 2 x 4 zones = 8 zones) to travel on only 6 zones. You can klip 3 times using a 2 zone klippekort or 2 times on a 3 zone klippekort or a single time on a 6 zone klippekort.

Use only the number of zones that you need to travel in. You can combine any klippekorts to total the right number of zones. Just klip all the cards at the same time (one after the other).

If you are missing a single zone, buy a single ticket. These are only valid for purchase in combination with other tickets. You can not travel on a single ticket alone.

Remember, you will not be getting a refund on any unused travel, so why pay more?

You can also download a interactive file, where you can change your starting zones. Works the same way, you just use the left sidebar to choose the zone you are starting your travel in.

You can download it at here. Just right click and save.

To learn more about public transport, remember to check out some the links below.