Rhine ferries resume service after rain raises water levels

Rising water levels enabled River Rhine car ferries to resume operations after a 29-day break in July and August, reported dpa.

Jens Jansen, one of the operators of the Rhine ferry between Düsseldorf and Zons, told dpa on Saturday morning that the enforced break had been commercially damaging.

"As we generate the majority of our revenue in the spring and summer, so of course the economic impact is significant," he said.

As well as motorists, the ferry is popular with cyclists and pedestrians taking a trip from Düsseldorf to the historic old town of Zons. It is particularly busy at weekends when the weather is fine.

Not so this year, however - a drought and extremely low water levels led to the enforced break.

"It's a bitter pill to swallow, but that's the way of nature," says Jansen. On Saturday morning, in changeable weather with alternating rain and sunshine, there were only a few cars and cyclists on board.

The Weiß ferry in Cologne resumed operations on Friday, while the Siebengebirge ferry in Bad Honnef (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the ferry in Kaub (Rhineland-Palatinate) resumed service last Thursday.

"The situation has eased - but who knows what's still to come this summer," says the Kaub Ferry Association. They were unable to operate for 11 days.

Elsewhere, restrictions remain in place, meaning mobile homes and caravans, for example, cannot be carried.

Water levels on the Rhine reached historic lows this month. Levels have risen significantly recently, but are still at a relatively low level.

The delayed transport of goods by water, late deliveries, rising transport costs and production problems caused by the low water levels on the nation's rivers could hamper the nation's economic recovery, the Bundesbank warned last week.