With a free day in Copenhagen vice cancelled railtour, we decided to take a trip on the train ferry which connects Denmark and Germany between Rodby and Puttgarden. All trains are worked by ICE-TD tilting DMUs and a reasonably regular service operates between Hamburg and Copenhagen, the ferry service itself operates every half hour using four ships from a fleet of five.
We got off the Copenhagen-Hamburg at Puttgarden for the local cart forward to Oldenburg which made a nice plus half hour onto the summer dated 218 hauled IC service back to Puttgarden which produced, annoyingly, boring re-engined 218322.
Both Rodby and Puttgarden are shadows of their former selves from a railway point if view with a huge amount of disused sidings and running lines, with the opening of the Great Fixed Link in Denmark allowing through rail traffic to avoid the ferry and travel via Padborg the route via Puttgarden no longer sees any freight traffic and itself is planned to be replaced by a bridge which is due for completion in 2018.
Please see the individual photos for full captions.
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