{
  "id": 2558124,
  "title": "Steigende Pegelstände: Rhein-Fähren fahren wieder",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/steigende-pegelstande-rhein-fahren-fahren-wieder",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-22T10:31:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/steigende-pegelstaende-rhein-faehren-fahren-wieder/100248969.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "After a week-long mandatory halt, an increasing number of Rhine ferries are resuming operation due to rising water levels. Following a 29-day pause in July and August, ferries between Düsseldorf and Zons (Dormagen) began running again on Saturday morning, Jens Jansen of the ferry operator told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The financial consequences of the multi-week compulsory pause, he said, were significant: \"As we generate most of our revenue in spring and summer, the economic impact is substantial.\" Besides car passengers, the ferry is popular with cyclists and pedestrians traveling to Zons' historical old town, particularly on weekends with good weather. But this year, drought and extreme low water led to the compulsory halt. \"It's painful, but that's nature,\" Jansen said. On Saturday morning, with mild weather alternating between rain and sunshine, there were only a few cars and cyclists onboard. The ferry company, where his father and brother also work, had been on the verge of applying for short-time work. He was relieved that things were finally back on track. The home and community association ferry between Xanten and Wesel on the Lower Rhine also resumed operation on Saturday after a three-week break. \"It's working, we're moving,\" ferry operator Philipp Feine said. The longest natural compulsory pause was due to low water in 2022, which lasted two weeks. Water levels remain quite low The ferry White in Cologne resumed operation on Friday, the Siebengebirge ferry in Bad Honnef (NRW) and the Kaub ferry in Rhineland-Palatinate also restarted on the previous Thursday. \"It's calming down - but who knows what will come this summer,\" Kaub ferry community said. Eleven days of no operation had passed. In Bad Honnef, there are still restrictions: due to the still quite low water level, no campers or trailers are transported, only cars up to the size of a VW. The Rhine ferry between Bad Breisig and Bad Hönningen (Rhineland-Palatinate) set a maximum weight of 7.5 tons per vehicle, with a special low water ramp allowing ferry operations to continue. At the Hitdorfer People's Ferry, which normally transports around 350 people per week from Leverkusen to Cologne or vice versa, operation is expected to resume at the earliest on Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the city of Leverkusen. The multi-week compulsory pause from July resulted in a loss of about €30,000. Rhine water levels in this month reached historic lows, with Düsseldorf reaching a negative value. The Rhine is considerably deeper than the respective water level on shore, in Düsseldorf this is 1.59 meters. In recent days, it rose significantly, reaching a value of 31 centimeters in Düsseldorf on Saturday morning. However, this is still a relatively low value.",
  "summary": "Der sonnige Sommer hätte die Geschäfte von Rhein-Fähren ankurbeln können, doch das Gegenteil war der Fall: Es war so wenig Wasser im Rhein, dass die Fähren nicht mehr fahren konnten. Bis jetzt.",
  "key_points": [
    "Rhine ferries resume operation after multi-week halt due to rising water levels",
    "Financial impact significant as most revenue generated in spring and summer",
    "Ferry between Bad Breisig and Bad Hönningen sets 7.5-ton weight limit for vehicles"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}