Christian Lorenz
Press Officer
Telephone 0221 / 390 11 90
E-mail lorenzc(at)hgk.de
Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG
Press Office
Am Niehler Hafen 2
50735 Cologne
St Michael ferry has officially started operating
The "St Michael" ferry officially started operating today. This means that the ferry connection between Cologne-Langel and Leverkusen-Hitdorf has been resumed. It had been interrupted since December 2023 due to the breakdown of the ferry "Fritz Middelanis".
Leverkusen's Lord Mayor Uwe Richrath emphasised the importance of the ferry connection for the districts of Hitdorf on the Leverkusen side and Langel on the Cologne side. "Both sides of the Rhine are now closely connected again. Just as they have been for decades thanks to the ferry. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many Leverkusen residents who have campaigned for the resumption of the ferry service over the past few months," said the Lord Mayor.
The ferry service will initially run for a limited time, with a significantly reduced timetable. This week, the ferry will initially run Mon-Fri between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sat-Sun between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. with a reduced timetable . The timetable will be gradually increased in the coming week. Up-to-date information on the actual operation of the ferry is available at faehre-hitdorf.de available.
A good a fortnight ago, the "St Michael" ferry was transferred to Hitdorf. The jetties for the ferry were then customised. Test runs were also successfully carried out. Last weekend, agricultural vehicles were also able to cross the Rhine on the ship again with immediate effect.
The ferry "St Michael" was built in 1954 and its purchase was approved by the Leverkusen city council at the beginning of July. At an extraordinary shareholders' meeting of "Rheinfähre Köln-Langel/ Hitdorf GmbH", the shareholders had already spoken out in favour of reopening the ferry service as soon as possible.
The "Fritz Middelanis" Rhine ferry, which was previously in operation and over 60 years old, broke down at the beginning of December 2023. Expert reports showed that repairs would have been disproportionately expensive.