Gravesend – Tilbury ferry service
The Gravesend – Tilbury ferry service is a passenger ferry service in the Thames estuary east of London . It connects Gravesend in Kent on the south side with Tilbury in Essex on the north side and runs every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The operating company is the Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Company . The operation is subsidized by the Kent County Council and the Thurrock City Council , of which Tilbury is a part.
history
The town of Gravesend acquired the right to operate a ferry to Tilbury in 1694. At the same time the governor of Tilbury Fort received the same right to operate in the opposite direction. Sailing ships and rowing boats were used until they were replaced by steamships in 1855 . In 1852 the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTS) was also allowed to operate a ferry, but only for its own rail passengers. In 1862 LTS bought the other two ferry companies and shut them down.
In 1912 the LTS became part of the Midland Railway , which in turn was taken over by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923 . The LMS used two car ferries from 1924 and 1927 respectively. British Rail , which replaced the LMS in 1948, abandoned automobile ferry services in 1964 (one year after the opening of the Dartford Tunnel ) and restricted itself to passenger services.
In 1979 ferry traffic was privatized and initially operated by Sealink. This company came into the possession of Sea Containers in 1984 and was taken over by Stena Line in 1990 . A year later, the Stena Line sold this stake in White Horse Ferries. The latter went bankrupt in 2000, and the ferry service has been owned by the public Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Company ever since .
Web links
- Timetable
- History of the ferry connection - with numerous historical photos
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Upstream Tunnel High Speed One Dartford Crossing |
River crossings of the Thames |
downstream - |