The Lake Constance train ferries (Bodensee-Trajekte) were train ferries that were set up in the 19th century by railway companies to transport rail freight wagons across Lake Constance (Bodensee) between the five states located around the lake at the time. In the heyday of the railways, they were of great importance, especially for freight traffic.
Traffic parallel to the shore initially dominated shipping on Lake Constance. It was not until railways reached some port cities that the importance of the connections across Lake Constance increased, especially for grain traffic. Starting from 1824, steamboats were operated by different companies, rising to 2,874 in 1874.
The railway companies could initially only be connected with each other over the lake, since the Lake Constance Belt Railway (Bodenseegürtelbahn) on the German side was only built between 1867 and 1901 (in several stages). A line to Bregenz in Austria and continuing to Switzerland was only completed with the opening of the line to Bregenz on 24 October 1872. Until then passengers travelling to Switzerland had to continue over Lake Constance on a ship. The goods arriving by train were loaded at the final stations onto steamers (at that time combined cargo and passenger ships) or towed barges and at the destination they were reloaded onto the freight wagons of another railway company. The use of train ferries could reduce these transshipment processes. With the opening of the Swiss Gotthard Tunnel, the rail route over Lake Constance came to have great importance for all the railway companies.
At first, the emerging train ferry traffic used barges that were towed by steamers. Two parallel tracks were laid on the decks of the barges, each of which could accommodate up to eight wagons. Loading and unloading had to proceed in stages, because the complete unloading of only one of the two parallel tracks would have caused the barge to lean so much that the remaining wagons would have fallen into the lake. The barges were towed across the lake either by a passenger steamer or a dedicated tug.
After the completion of the Lake Constance Belt Railway, the costs of the train ferry operations were investigated. This showed that transport by train ferry was twice as expensive as transport around the lake by rail. However, since the single-track Belt Railway could not accommodate the additional traffic and the train ferry was faster (as so much time was lost at the two border clearances on the line via Bregenz to Switzerland), train ferry operations were retained. So work was also carried out between the two world wars on the improvement of the ferry operations. The port facilities were expanded and the train ferry ramp was equipped with electrical controls. Deutsche Reichsbahn, which was responsible for all train ferry traffic on Lake Constance from 1920, commenced operation with the ferry Schussen in 1929. The ship was powered by two diesel engines and could carry ten freight wagons on two parallel tracks across the lake. This ferry could now also carry cars. The new Hafenbahnhof (port station) was opened together with the rebuilt tracks at the port of Friedrichshafen on 7 March 1933. It now houses the Zeppelin Museum.
| Connections | Opened | Adjusted | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindau-Insel–Romanshorn | 1869 | 1939 | Interrupted in the First World War |
| Romanshorn–Friedrichshafen Hafen | 1869 | 1976 | Interrupted in the First and Second World War |
| Bregenz–Konstanz | 1884 | 1917 | |
| Lindau-Insel–Konstanz | 1873 | 1899 | |
| Bregenz–Romanshorn | 1884 | 1915 | |
| Bregenz–Friedrichshafen Hafen | 1884 | 1913 |
The train ferry traffic over Lake Constance on the Friedrichshafen–Romanshorn route began in 1869 with a steam ferry. In addition, in the same year, unpowered barges were towed by the Bavarian State Railways on the Lindau–Romanshorn route. From 1929 motorised train ferries were used for the carriage of freight wagons or motor vehicles.
In order to increase transport capacity, all national and state railways used non-powered ferry barges. Specifically, in the home port of Lindau there were three train ferry barges (Trajektkähne) I, II and III (1869), in the home port of Konstanz there were three ferry barges, the Ludwigshafen (1872) and Baden (1893), in the home port of Friedrichshafen there were the Tr. I (1877) and Tr. II (1885) and the screw propeller ferry Buchhorn (1891), in the home port of Bregenz there were ferry barges I, II, III, and IV (1885) and the screw propeller ferry Bregenz (1885) and in the home port of Romanshorn there were ferry barges A (1884) and B (1885). One or two barges were hauled across the lake by a passenger ferry or a steamship. Six ferry barges were converted from 1926 into self-propelled boats and motorised. A motor ferry towed a ferry barge carrying 14 wagons. [2]
The first steam train ferry was put into operation in 1869 in Friedrichshafen jointly by the Royal Württemberg State Railway and the Swiss Northeastern Railway. [3] The engineer was an Englishman, John Scott Russell, who had already built the Stadt Schaffhausen in 1851 for Switzerland and was also involved in the construction of the Great Eastern (which at the time of its launch in 1858 was by far the world's biggest ship). [4] Like many of the working ships built at that time by Escher-Wyss of Zürich in Romanshorn, it had no name. Because of the enormous coal consumption of more than 50 kg of coal per km, it was soon popularly called the Kohlefresser (coal eater). The uneconomic ferry was taken out of service after boiler damage in 1883 and scrapped in 1885.
In 1874, the Royal Bavarian State Railway received another steam train ferry, also built by Escher-Wyss. [5] The ferry was used on the Lindau-Romanshorn route until 1914. At the beginning of the First World War, operations were suspended and were not resumed after the war. After more than twelve years in Lindau harbor, the ship was scrapped in Altenrhein in 1927. The two steam train ferries were the only ships on Lake Constance with two funnels.
Only two years after the scrapping of the Lindau steam train ferries, the first new motor train ferry, the Schussen was put into operation in Friedrichshafen. In the 1930s, some older train ferries were motorised and some were still in use until 1966. Other motor train ferries followed with the Romanshorn in 1958 and the Rorschach in 1966. With the discontinuation of train ferry operations in 1976, these three double-ended ferries were converted into car ferries. Car ferry operations between Friedrichshafen and Romanshorn have continued to this day.
Lake Constance refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (Obersee), Lower Lake Constance (Untersee), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake Rhine (Seerhein). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows.
Friedrichshafen is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (Kreisstadt) of the Bodensee district in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Friedrichshafen has a population of about 58,000.
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as distinguished from "auto ferries" used to transport automobiles. The wharf has a ramp, and a linkspan or "apron", balanced by weights, that connects the railway proper to the ship, allowing for tidal or seasonal changes in water level.
The High Rhine Railway is a Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel Badischer Bahnhof in the city of Basel to Konstanz on Lake Constance. It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Baden Mainline, which follows the Rhine upstream from Mannheim Hauptbahnhof to Konstanz. The line derives its name from the High Rhine, which it follows between Basel and Waldshut and on a short section in Schaffhausen.
The Ulm–Friedrichshafen railway, also known as the Württembergische Südbahn, is an electrified main line in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. It was built from 1846 to 1850 and doubled from 1905 to 1913. During that time many of the station buildings were rebuilt. Its kilometre numbering (chainage) begins as the Fils Valley Railway in Stuttgart Hbf. The line was upgraded and electrified from the spring of 2018. Electric operations commenced in December 2021.
The Swiss Northeastern Railway was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (Bodensee) and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the Jura–Simplon Railway (JS) in 1890/91, it was the largest Swiss railway company.
The Lake Line, as it is referred to by the SBB in English, is the Swiss railway line running from Rorschach via Romanshorn, Konstanz (Germany), Kreuzlingen, Steckborn, Stein am Rhein and Diessenhofen to Schaffhausen. The scenic route follows the southern border of Lake Constance and the High Rhine. It forms the Swiss section of the ring railway around Lake Constance.
Konstanz station is the largest passenger station in the German city of Konstanz (Constance). It is served by regional and long-distance services operated by Deutsche Bahn and Swiss Federal Railways. It is the end of the High Rhine Railway and the beginning of the Lake Line.
Romanshorn railway station is a railway station that serves the municipality of Romanshorn, in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. Opened in 1855, the station is owned and operated by SBB-CFF-FFS. It forms the junction between the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, the Schaffhausen–Rorschach railway and the Romanshorn–Nesslau Neu St. Johann railway.
Lindau-Insel station is the largest station in the city of Lindau (Bodensee) and was its most important station until passenger service resumed at Lindau-Reutin station on December 13, 2020. In the urban area there is also Lindau-Aeschach station and Lindau-Reutin freight yard. Formerly there were also Lindau-Siebertsdorf, Lindau Langenweg, Lindau Strandbad, Schoenau, Oberreitnau and Rehlings.
Friedrichshafen Stadt (city) station is the largest railway station of the city of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance (Bodensee) and a railway junction in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has five tracks and is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station. Each day it is used by about 160 trains operated by Deutsche Bahn and the Bodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn (BOB). Ulm–Friedrichshafen railway from Ulm ends at the station, where it meets the Stahringen–Friedrichshafen railway and the Friedrichshafen–Lindau railway. Another major railway station in the city, Friedrichshafen Hafen station, which is operated as part of Friedrichshafen Stadt station, was used until 1976 for loading and unloading carriages on the Lake Constance train ferry to Romanshorn in Switzerland.
The Lake Constance Belt Railway is a name used for several contiguous railway lines around along the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in southern Germany. It was coined around 1900, when the railway ring around the lake was finished, and consists of the following sections:
The Stadt Zürich was a Swiss steamship, built in 1855, that plied Lake Constance. She was given the nickname Teufelsschiff because she was involved in three serious collisions with other craft and was said to have sunk more German ships than the Danish navy during the Second Schleswig War.
The Jura was a wooden, flush deck, paddle steamer, originally built for service on Lake Neuchâtel, but which was sold after seven years to work on Lake Constance, and sank in 1864 after a collision with the Stadt Zürich.
The Friedrichshafen Stadt–Friedrichshafen Hafen railway is a standard gauge and electrified railway line in the city of Friedrichshafen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It connects the town station with the port station. The 816 metre-long branch line has its own VzG route number, 4531, although operationally it is a connection between two parts of the same station.
Friedrichshafen Hafen station is a station in Friedrichshafen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It was opened on 1 June 1850 and served as a port station for the train ferry over Lake Constance to Romanshorn until 1976 and is still used for passenger services by Deutsche Bahn and Bodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn (BOB). Today Friedrichshafen Hafen station is administered as a part of the Friedrichshafen Stadt station (Stadtbahnhof), to which it is connected by the Friedrichshafen Stadt–Friedrichshafen Hafen railway.
The Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, also known in German as the Thurtallinie, is a Swiss railway line and was built as part of the railway between Zürich and Lake Constance (Bodensee). It connects Winterthur with Romanshorn, where it formerly connected to train ferries over Lake Constance. It is the fourth oldest internal railway in Switzerland. Its construction was to be funded by the Zürich-Lake Constance Railway (Zürich-Bodenseebahn), but during the construction the company was merged with the Swiss Northern Railway to form the Swiss Northeastern Railway. The Winterthur–Romanshorn railway was opened on 16 May 1855 and the line from Winterthur to Oerlikon was opened on 27 December 1855. Zürich was reached on 26 June 1856 and the two existing NOB lines were connected.
The Vorarlberg S-Bahn is a label for regional rail services in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is integrated into the Vorarlberg Transport Association (VVV) which manages ticket pricing, and is operated by the state-owned ÖBB and privately owned Montafonerbahn (mbs). In addition to Vorarlberg, the network connects to the German town of Lindau, the Swiss towns of St. Margrethen and Buchs SG, and stations in the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Rorschach Hafen railway station is a railway station in Rorschach, in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is located on the Lake line of Swiss Federal Railways. It is adjacent to a ferry terminal with service to Lindau and Wasserburg am Bodensee across Lake Constance.
The S7 is a railway service of the St. Gallen S-Bahn that provides half-hourly service between Romanshorn and Rorschach, with hourly service from Romanshorn to Weinfelden. Some trains continue from Rorschach to St. Margrethen, Bregenz and Lindau along the shores of Lake Constance.
