Train ferry

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A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the ship has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. The wharf (sometimes called a "slip") has a ramp or linkspan that connects the railway proper to the ship, allowing for the water level to rise and fall with the tides. For an example of a specialized slip to receive railcars see ferry slip.

While railway vehicles can and are shipped on the decks or in the holds of ordinary ships, purpose-built train ferries are much quicker to load and unload, especially as several vehicles can be loaded or unloaded at once. A train ferry that is a barge is called a car float.

The first was built in 1849 by Thomas Bouch, engineer of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, Scotland, to cross the Forth estuary between Granton and Burntisland. It was intended as a temporary measure until the railway could build a bridge, but this was not opened until 1890, its construction delayed in part by repercussions from the catastrophic failure of Bouch's Tay Rail Bridge.^[1]

Contents 1 Examples 1.1 Argentina 1.2 Australia 1.3 Bangladesh 1.4 Bolivia 1.5 Brazil 1.6 Bulgaria 1.7 Canada 1.8 China 1.9 Denmark 1.10 Egypt 1.11 Georgia 1.12 India 1.13 Iran 1.14 Italy 1.15 Japan 1.16 New Zealand 1.17 Norway 1.18 Paraguay 1.19 Peru 1.20 Russia 1.21 Sri Lanka 1.22 Sudan 1.23 Sweden 1.24 Tanzania 1.25 Turkey 1.26 Uganda 1.27 Ukraine 1.28 United Kingdom 1.29 United States 2 Proposed ferries 3 Portage railways 4 Hazards of train ferries 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Examples

[edit] Argentina

Nine train ferries were in use between 1907 and 1990, when bridges were built over the rivers they crossed. They were the Lucía Carbó, the María Parera, the Mercedes Lacroze (these three ferries operating between the Zárate port and the Ibicuy port, crossing the Paraná river in the northeast of the Buenos Aires province), then in 1913 were added the Roque Saenz Peña and Javier Ramos Mejía paddle in Posadas city crossing the Paraná river in the southwest of the Misiones province, at the north of Argentina) and then, in 1928, other three ferries were built: the Delfina Mitre, Dolores de Urquiza and Carmen Avellaneda, replacing the old first ones which worked in the Zarate-Ibicuy way. The first two were sunk due to collisions with cargo ships. Two of the most modern are still serving as floating piers in the Zarate region, and some others were sold for conversion to flat barges or were scrapped. The two northern ferries still remain in Posadas, and one of them has a railway museum inside. All the eight old ferries were built by the J. A. Inglis Co. Ltd., in Pointhouse, Glasgow, Scotland for the Entre Rios Railways Co. in Argentina.

The ninth ferry, the Tabare, -the last and newest ferry- was built in Argentina in 1966 by Astarsa (AStilleros ARgentinos S.A.) at Rio Santiago Shipbuildings, near La Plata city, at the south of Buenos Aires area. It is still floating but not operating, awaiting a decision, in the south pier aside to the new Puerto Madero facilities, the new neighbour built in Buenos Aires city over the port and the old docks of Buenos Aires.

[edit] Australia

• Grafton, New South Wales over Clarence River pending construction of bridge, 1920s to 1930s

• The Port Lincoln division is isolated from the main system by desert and is very roundabout, and rolling stock is transferred as required by ship or by road low loaders.

[edit] Bangladesh

• from Balashi Ghat to Bahadurabad Ghat.

[edit] Bolivia

• link from Peru

[edit] Brazil

• See Paraguay

[edit] Bulgaria

• The Varna-Odesa (Ukraine) train ferry line served by 4 boats (13,000 DWT each, carrying 108 loaded railroad cars) opened in 1978, bypasses a break of gauge. Later, the service was extended to include lines to Poti and Batumi, Georgia. Boats can carry trucks and passengers as well.

[edit] Canada

• Prince Rupert, British Columbia - Whittier, Alaska (AquaTrain)
• Delta, British Columbia - Nanaimo, British Columbia (CPR, later E and N Railway)
• various inland lakes of British Columbia (CN Rail and CPR)
• Sarnia, Ontario - Port Huron, Michigan (CN Rail, until the opening of the Paul Tellier Tunnel)
• Windsor, Ontario - Detroit, Michigan (CN Rail, until 1980s)
• Port Burwell, Ontario - Ashtabula, Ohio (CN Rail)
• Cobourg, Ontario - Rochester, New York (Ontario Car Company)
• Matane, Quebec - Baie Comeau, Quebec (COGEMA)
• Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick - Borden Carleton, Prince Edward Island (Prince Edward Island Railway, CN Rail, CN Marine, Marine Atlantic)
• Mulgrave, Nova Scotia - Point Tupper, Nova Scotia (CN Rail, until the opening of the Canso Causeway)
• North Sydney, Nova Scotia - Port aux Basques, Newfoundland (Newfoundland Railway, CN Rail, CN Marine)

[edit] China

• Zhanjiang, Guangdong and Haikou, Hainan - connects mainland with island

• Yantai in Shandong Province to Dalian in Liaoning Province - a short cut - (opening 2006)

• Yangtze River in Wuhan before construction of first river bridge.

[edit] Denmark

• Strib - Fredericia, 1872 - 1935, replaced by Little Belt Bridge
• Korsør - Nyborg, 1883 - 1997, replaced by Great Belt fixed link
• Oddesund Syd - Oddesund Nord, 1883 - 1938, replaced by Oddesund Bridge
• Masnedø - Orehoved, 1884 - 1937, replaced by Storstrøm Bridge
• Glyngøre - Nykøbing Mors, 1889 - 1977
• Helsingør - Helsingborg, Sweden, 1892 - 2000, since then car ferry only
• Copenhagen Frihavn - Malmö, Sweden, 1895 - 2000, replaced by Øresund bridge
• Gedser - Warnemünde, Germany, 1903 - 1995, replaced by car ferry Gedser - Rostock, Germany
• Faaborg - Mommark, 1922 - 1962, freight only
• Assens - Aarøsund, 1923 - 1950, freight only, narrow gauge (1000 mm)
• Svendborg - Rudkøbing, 1926 - 1962, freight only
• Hvalpsund - Sundsøre, 1927 - 1969, since then car ferry only
• Svendborg - Ærøskøbing, 1931 - 1994, freight only
• Gedser - Großenbrode Kai, Germany, 1951 - 1963, replaced by Rodby - Puttgarden Ferry
• Hirtshals - Kristiansand, Norway, 1960 - 1995, freight only
• Rodby - Puttgarden, Germany across Fehmarn Belt. 1963 - , serves 6 trains/day Copenhagen - Hamburg.
• Copenhagen Frihavn - Helsingborg, Sweden (Danlink) 1986 - 1991, freight only
• Frederikshavn - Göteborg, Sweden, 1987 - , freight only

[edit] Egypt

A ferry, though not necessarily a train ferry, links the 1435 mm gauge network of Egypt and the 1067 mm network of Sudan.

[edit] Georgia

• Russia to Georgia, bypasses Abkhazia

[edit] India

A ferry though not necessarily a train ferry links India and Sri Lanka over a narrow and shallow stretch of water.

[edit] Iran

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and upheavals along the railway route through Armenia and Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia instituted a ferry service over the Caspian Sea.

[edit] Italy

• Mainland to Sicily: between the ports of Villa San Giovanni and Messina - passenger and freight service
• Mainland to Sardinia: between the ports of Civitavecchia and Golfo Aranci - freight service only

Both services are operated by Bluvia that is a subsidiary company of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. At present the link between Mainland and Sicily has a regular and frequent activity, while the link between Mainland and Sardinia is less frequent and operated basically day by day on the basis of the actual traffic demand.

An unofficial web page about the Italian rail ferries can be found at this link.

[edit] Japan

Japan Railways would have had train ferries to link up the main islands before these were replaced by bridges and tunnels.

[edit] New Zealand

• The North Island to the South Island - two ferries - operated by the Interisland Line between Wellington and Picton. The ferries are capable of carrying both rail and road vehicles on two separate decks. There is one which cannot, MV Kaitaki.

[edit] Norway

• Historically the lake Tinnsjø railway ferry (1909 – 1991) linked Tinnosbanen and Rjukanbanen, transporting goods to and from Rjukan and the Norsk Hydro heavy water factory, as seen in the movie The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas.
• Hirtshals - Kristiansand, Norway, 1960 - 1995, freight only

[edit] Paraguay

• Link to Brazil - replaced by bridge c1985.

[edit] Peru

• Link to Bolivia.

[edit] Russia

See Iran.

[edit] Sri Lanka

A ferry though not necessarily a train ferry links India and Sri Lanka over a narrow and shallow stretch of water.

[edit] Sudan

A ferry, though not necessarily a train ferry, links the 1435 mm gauge network of Egypt and the 1067 mm network of Sudan, across the Nile River.

Another ferry used to operate between Juba, Sudan and Pakwach, Uganda, also along the Nile River.

[edit] Sweden

• Scandlines operates a train ferry between Trelleborg, Sweden and Sassnitz, Germany. There is a daily passenger night train service between Malmö, Sweden and Berlin, Germany.

[edit] Tanzania

See Uganda.

[edit] Turkey

• Bosphorus - train ferry connects the European railway network with main connections from Thessaloniki, Greece and Bucharest, Romania terminating at the Sirkeci Terminal to the Asian network terminating at the Haydarpaşa Terminal. The current Marmaray project, expected to be complete in 2009, will replace the ferry connection with an underwater railway tunnel running between the two sides.
• Black Sea - Ilyichevsk, Ukraine to Derince, Turkey bypasses a break of gauge
• Lake Van - Tatvan - Van. The Istanbul - Tehran and Damascus - Tehran passenger trains operate from each terminus to the ferry ports. Only the luggage van takes the ferry, the passengers have to switch trains at either end. The Lake Van Ferry is part of the hypothetical route Istanbul - Beijing. A scheduled freight train runs from Istanbul to Kazakhstan. The Train Ferry was established to avoid an expensive railroad line along the mountainous southern shore and may be replaced when traffic increases sufficiently.
• M/F Erdeniz is a train ferry that carries wagons between Eregli and Zonguldak ports. The vessel operates every day except Sunday. The vessel is operated by ERDEMIR LOGISTICS.

[edit] Uganda

A train ferry on Lake Victoria links the 1000 mm gauge network of Uganda with the 1000 mm gauge network of Tanzania.

[edit] Ukraine

• Black Sea - see above

[edit] United Kingdom

• Harwich to Zeebrugge. Belgium - closed in 1987
• Dover to Dunkerque, France - replaced by the Channel Tunnel. [1]

[edit] United States

• New York Cross Harbor Railroad, transferring freight cars between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York, run as needed. This ferry still operates because rail cars with flammable and hazardous materials are not permitted in the former Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels under Manhattan and the Hudson River.
• The Alaska Railroad is connected to the rest of the North American rail system only via train ferries. The Alaska Railroad runs its own ferries from Whittier, Alaska to Seattle, Washington, and the Canadian National Railway operates its AquaTrain between Whittier and Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
• Lake Michigan Frankfort, Michigan to Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Marinette, Wisconsin or Manistique, Michigan was the Ann Arbor Railroad's Lake Michigan car ferry service that discontinued in the 1980's.
• Lake Michigan Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Kewaunee or Milwaukee, Wisconsin served by the Pere Marquette Railroad and predessesor Chesapeake and Ohio with the ships SS Spartan and the SS Badger, built in 1953. The Badger is now used as a automobile ferry between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan.
• Lake Michigan Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon or Grand Haven, Michigan was the Lake Michigan car ferry service of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad which was run by its subsidary company Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company. Its fleet included five ships including the SS City of Milwaukee, built in 1931. [2]
• Straits of Mackinac Mackinaw City to St. Ignus, Michigan the SS Chief Wawatam (carferries.com) at the Straits of Mackinac connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
• Chesapeake Bay - Eastern Shore Railroad from Norfolk, VA to Cape Charles, VA
• San Francisco Bay - The San Francisco Belt Railroad had slip at Pier 43 which allowed interchange with the Northwestern Pacific, the Western Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads.

[edit] Proposed ferries

The Trans-Asian Railway has proposed a few train ferries:

• between Sri Lanka and India
• across the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh
• Penang in Malaysia and Belawan in Sumatra, Indonesia

[edit] Portage railways

The opposite of a train ferry is a portage railway.

• A train ferry overcomes a lack of a land link.
• A portage railway overcomes a lack of a navigatable stretch of a river.

For example, before the Panama canal, the Panama Railway provided a link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

[edit] Hazards of train ferries

The Norwegian train ferry Skagerak sank in September 7, 1966 on a journey between Kristiansand (Norway) and Hirtshals (Denmark) in heavy weather (Gale force winds) when the rear sea-gate was destroyed by heavy seas. Fortunately there was no loss of lives (although one person died afterwards). 6 freight cars went to bottom with the ship as well as some automobiles. The ferry was built in 1965.

A similar incident happened when the Canadian train ferry Patrick Morris sank on April 19, 1970 while assisting in a search and rescue operation for a sinking fishing trawler off the northeast coast of Cape Breton Island. The ferry was trying to maintain position to retrieve a body when her stern gates were overpowered by 30-foot waves; she sank within 30 minutes taking several rail cars and 4 crew members to the bottom of the Cabot Strait. There were 47 survivors.

Train ferries rarely sank because of sea-hazards, although they have some weaknesses linked to the very nature of transporting trains "on rail" on a ship.

These weaknesses include:

• Trains are loaded at a rather high level, making the ship top-heavy.
• The train deck is difficult to compartmentalise, so that sloshing flood water can destabilise the ship.
• The sea doors where the trains go in and out are a weakness, even if placed at the rear of the ship.
• The train carriages need to be strongly secured lest they break away and roll around.

A number of railroad carferries, such as the *SS Milwaukee, have been lost on the Great Lakes. These losses, though causes remain unconfirmed, were attributed to seas boarding the unprotected stern of the ship and swamping it in a severe storm. As a result, seagates were required on all new ships and required to be retrofitted on older vessels. In addition, two wooden crosslake railroad ferries were burned.

[edit] See also

• Ferry slip (includes examples of rail ferry and barge slips)
• List of road-rail bridges
• Car float
• Special Hunslet locomotive for loading train ferries

[edit] References

1. ^ Shipway, J.S. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.