In 1903, the first railway ferry sailed between Gedser in Denmark and Warnemünde in Germany, where DSB operated the route from the Danish side in partnership with a state-owned German shipping company.

[1] A second service, the 'bird's flight line' (die Vogelfluglinie in German) between Rødby and Puttgarden was added in 1963, creating a direct route between Copenhagen and Hamburg.

[6] Between 1999 and 2015, some of Scandlines' routes were sold, including Aarhus-Kalundborg to Molslinjen, and Helsingør-Helsingborg to ForSea Ferries.

Scandlines expects to continue operating on the Rødby–Puttgarden route despite the planned completion of the Fehmarn Belt tunnel in 2029.

The new vessel is due to enter service in 2024 and will have two-deck loading alongside a freight capacity of 66 HGVs, or some 1200 lane metres.