Rhine ferries resume operations across western Germany as water levels recover

Operations resume after weeks of disruption

Water levels on the Rhine have begun to recover, allowing multiple passenger and vehicle ferry operators across North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate to restart services following lengthy drought-induced closures. In southern Düsseldorf, the car and passenger ferry connecting to the old town of Zons in Dormagen returned to service on Saturday morning after a 29-day halt spanning July and August. The Bislich civic association ferry, which operates between Xanten and Wesel along the Lower Rhine, also resumed crossings on Saturday following a three-week pause. Farther upstream, services had already started returning earlier in the week, with the Weiß ferry in Cologne restarting on Friday and crossings at Bad Honnef and Kaub resuming on Thursday.

Financial strain and operational adjustments

The prolonged disruption placed severe economic pressure on family-run and municipal operators during their most profitable season of the year. Jens Jansen, whose family business operates the Düsseldorf-Zons crossing with five permanent employees and five temporary staff, noted that the company came close to applying for state-subsidized short-time work.

Since we generate a large part of our revenue in spring and summer, the economic consequences are naturally substantial.

Municipal operations experienced similar financial setbacks. In Leverkusen, the Hitdorf passenger ferry, which normally transports an average of 350 people per day across the river to Cologne during July, suffered roughly 30,000 euros in revenue losses during an operational halt exceeding 30 days.

Navigational limits and safety measures

While river traffic is returning, persistent low water depth continues to impose strict operational restrictions on several routes. At Bad Honnef, the Siebengebirge ferry resumed transport only for passenger cars up to the size of a VW van, barring motorhomes and commercial transport vehicles due to shallow draft. Between Bad Breisig and Bad Hönningen, operators maintained crossings by deploying a specialized low-water ramp and capping individual vehicle weights at 7.5 tonnes. Philipp Feine, ferry manager for the Xanten-Wesel service, noted the duration relative to prior seasons.

That was our longest nature-related forced pause; during the 2022 low water it was two weeks.

Water level outlook along the corridor

Hydrological conditions along the Rhine remain precarious despite recent rain. In Düsseldorf, where shore gauge measurements dropped into negative figures earlier in August, the gauge was expected to reach nearly 40 centimetres on Saturday, while the dredged shipping channel retained a depth of 1.59 metres. Because water level forecasts indicate potential declines following the weekend, operators of the ferry between Kaiserswerth and Meerbusch-Langst decided against an immediate restart, aiming instead to resume scheduled daily crossings on 2 September in coordination with the start of the school term. The Hitdorf ferry service between Leverkusen and Cologne is scheduled to attempt its reopening on Monday at the earliest.