Dover - Dunkerque train ferry


The Dover - Dunkerque train ferry was one of two regular rail freight train ferries that operated between the United Kingdom and Europe. The route connected the English port of Dover, with the French port of Dunkerque. After rationalisation of other Anglo-European train ferries, the Dover to Dunkerque sailing was the last to survive, though it ended its days on freight carryings only after the Night Ferry passenger service ended in 1980. The last Dover to Dunkerque wagon-freight ferry service became redundant upon the opening of the Channel Tunnel when freight was carried directly through the Channel Tunnel.

History

Before the First World War, freight being shipped between The Channel Ports led to a time consuming process of shipping from source, unloading onto ship, re-loading onto rail wagons and then onward delivery on the continent. This ran a significant cost of finance, time and also was detrimental in the amount of labour required to handle the transhipment. During the First World War, despite many innovative efforts to get military supplies to The Front, the British Military established a train ferry at Richborough to enable trains and wagons to be taken onto a ferry without having to transfer the goods from wagons. Other crossings were also established at Southampton, Dover, Newhaven and Liverpool.
Whilst this process was by no means unique in Britain, train ferries on the open sea was new to the British railway system.
The London and North Eastern Railway established a Harwich to Zeebrugge train ferry in 1924, using the former ferries and docking equipment as produced for the British military at Southampton and Richborough during the First World War. In 1933, the Southern Railway started on a train ferry terminal in the port at Dover to allow a ro-ro ferry service for trains across the channel to Dunkerque. Dunkerque was chosen above other French ports because of its recently refurbished docks. Initial lightly loaded freight services started in 1936, but a full service for freight did not begin in earnest until 1937, with the Night Ferry passenger service starting a year earlier in 1936.
Due to the height difference between high and low tides, which could be as much as in Dover Harbour, a separate dock was created which was protected against the extremes of tidal difference. Additionally, the dock was specially constructed with concrete in the water and a substrate of chalk removed from beneath it. The geological problems of building on the grey chalk was a problem that presented itself to the builders of the Channel Tunnel, a venture which brought the train ferry service to an end.
The Night Ferry service last ran in September 1939 due to the onset of the Second World War, and during the war, the three ships that plied the route were redeployed in use by the Royal Navy as mine-laying ships as the advantage of having rails set into the deck, allowed for easy transport onto the ship of the mines.
Competition first came from vehicle only ro-ro ferries in 1952 when a Dover to Boulogne service was started.
In 1988, a new dock and linkspan were installed at Admiralty Pier at Dover. This allowed loading and unloading of the ferry whatever the water level as the linkspan was adaptable for the height variances of the tide. At the same time, a single ship was introduced, the "Nord Pas-de-Calais", which was capable of a two hour journey time between the two ports, which resulted in the possibility of up to four sailings each way per day. Loading and unloading at both terminals was undertaken with two locomotives each drawing a train of railway wagons on or off at the same time. This was to prevent the ship shifting under the weight change when wagons were taken away or added. The "Nord Pas-de-Calais" was built with an open section at the stern of the ship ; this allowed for the transport of dangerous goods which could dissipate fumes if they leaked, but also that the wagons that contained the dangerous goods were more accessible in case of emergencies.

Commodities

Freight arriving and departing from the Dover ferry terminal was brought into Dover, or forwarded on, via British Rail's wagonload network (labelled as Speedlink from 1977 to 1991, and as Railfreight Distribution between 1991 and 1995. Traffic imported into Dover via the train ferry included, fruit, chemicals and nuclear fuels between the continent and the BNFL complex at Sellafield.
Exports included china clay from the south west of England to Switzerland and steel products from Teesside to France and Spain. Total tonnage of freight carried between Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom in 1993 was almost. A further was transferred between the UK and other countries in Europe.

Ships

The train ferry route utilised a number of ships in its near 60 year history. For the purposes of TOPS, all the ships were given Class 99 status, except "Hampton" which was withdrawn before TOPS was introduced.
NameTOPS NumberLaunch dateWithdrawal dateNotesRef
The Twickenham 99 006March 1934May 1974Was HMS Twickenham during the Second World War
The Hampton July 1934November 1969Was HMS Hampton during the Second World War. The Hampton was sold in 1969 but laid up in 1973
The Shepperton 99 009October 1934September 1972Was HMS Shepperton during the Second World War
Saint Germain99 01119511988Scrapped straight from train ferry service in 1988
Vortigern99 00719691988Some sources state its name as Vortigan. The ship was used sporadically as a train ferry and was finally moved away from the Channel routes in 1984.
Anderida99 00819711981Only operated on the Dover to Dunkerque route for two years 1972–1974
Chartres99 01219741993Afer being used on the train ferry route on a rolling basis with other routes, she was sold to another ferry company in 1993
Saint Eloi99 01319751990Sold to another ferry company
Nord Pas-de-Calais99 001January 1988December 1995Sold to SeaFrance

Interchangeability with other train ferries was not common; the Harwich to Zeebrugge train ferry used other ships which were not used on the Dover to Dunkerque route.

Closure

The train ferry carried its last cargo in December 1995. The opening of the Channel Tunnel prompted the demise of the train ferry to and from Dover, as most flows were re-routed through the tunnel, though its freight loadings have seen lower tonnages than the train ferry carried. Part of the reason for the lower tonnages was down to uncertainty with illegal immigrants, but also crucially, the dangerous goods that the train ferry carried were banned from travelling through the tunnel, so these loads were lost to road transport.
The train ferry dock at Dover has since been partially infilled and was in use as an aggregate terminal in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

In popular culture

The Dover to Dunkerque train ferry has appeared in TV, films and books;