Elbe Link: Successful new start on the Elbe

Despite not having a second ferry, ELB-LINK was able to significantly increase its transport services. In the first 50 days, around 52,500 passengers were transported across the Elbe, an average of 1,050 per day; in the same period last year, the figure (with two ships) was only 47,065 passengers (corresponding to 941/day). The number of cars and motorhomes transported rose from 12,100 in the same period in 2016 to 14,250 in the first 50 days of 2017. Even the freight figures show an increase: 1,800 freight units this year compared to 1,792 in the same period in 2016.

This has more than doubled the capacity utilization of the "Grete", which significantly increases the profitability of the operating company and, last but not least, secures the long-term survival of the service. The new start on the Elbe also brings a number of improvements for passengers: the crossing now only takes a maximum of 75 minutes instead of the previous 90 minutes, thanks to shorter lay times, an increase in engine power and the associated higher speed. The reopening of the traditional Seestern restaurant directly at the ferry terminal in Cuxhaven has also improved the range of food on board, much of which can now be delivered fresh from the Seestern kitchen. The proportion of convenience products in the on-board restaurant will decrease accordingly.

"Right on the first departure from Cuxhaven, the rush of passengers and vehicles far exceeded our expectations," says Bernd Bässmann, the previous Operations Manager and current Managing Director of ELB-LINK Fährgesellschaft mbH. The Grete sails under the German flag and with a German-speaking crew. Almost all of the previous staff have also remained loyal to the ferry company. This means that experience and know-how will flow into the new company. Passengers will also notice this.

ELB-LINK now also has a new booking system and the website has also been redesigned. Internally, the focus will be on effective yield management in future. Bässmann: "We see the good traffic development since last year as positive, especially with regard to the increased freight volume. But the rising passenger and car numbers are also giving us a tailwind. Especially as the ferry is a good alternative to the omnipresent traffic jams - not least due to the traffic problems on the permanent A7 construction site, in the Elbe Tunnel bottleneck and currently during the renovation of the B5 Itzehoe-Brunsbüttel."

ELB-LINK factsIn the summer of 2015, ELB-LINK Reederei GmbH initially restarted the ferry service between Cuxhaven and Brunsbüttel, which had been interrupted for 14 years. Following its insolvency, ELB-LINK Fährgesellschaft mbH took over operations between the states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein on May 25, 2017 with the Norwegian-built double-ended ferry "Grete". The 90-metre-long ship offers space for 150 cars, 16 trucks and 55 cars.