Bohai Train Ferry (in Chinese: 渤海铁路轮渡) is a train ferry connecting Dalian, Liaoning, China, and Yantai, Shandong, over the Bohai Sea, which is the northern part of the Yellow Sea. It is 182.6 meters long and has been in operation since 2007.
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Some ideas of crossing the Yellow Sea from the Shandong Peninsula to the Liaodong Peninsula by means of other than the ships, such as the bridges or undesea tunnels, have been discussed in the history of China, particularly since the late 19th century when many people moved to Northeast China in the Chuang Guandong population move and the Beiyang Fleet was stationed in Weihaiwei, Shangdong, and Lushun, Liaoning. However, as a more practical plan, Bohai Train Ferry was approved at the national level in December, in December, 2003, its construction being started in full swing in October, 2004, its test operation in November 2006 and its operation in 2007. [1] It is the second oceanic train ferry after the Haikou, Hainan-Hai'an, Guangdong train ferry and is the longest train ferry.
Bohai Train Ferry travels 99.8 nautical miles (184.8 km). Currently, there are daily six services (Dalian-Yantai: 09:30-16:00, 16:30-23:00 and 23:20-06:20; Yantai-Dalian: 05:20-11:50, 14:10～20:40 and 22:00-04:30; as of August, 2009) by three vessels: the Sinorail Bohai No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, each accommodating up to 50 railway freight cars, 50 twenty-ton trucks, 25 passenger cars and 400 passengers. [2]
New branch line of the Dalian-Lushun railway and new highway branch were made that connect to this railway ferry. The ferry is in the northern most part of the newly developed area on Yangtou Bay (in Chinese: 羊头湾) of the Bohai Sea that includes World Peace Park, the new development zone and the universities (the Software and Information Engineering Departments of Dalian Jiaotong University and Dalian University of Foreign Ecomy and Trade (in Chinese: 大连对外经贸学院)).
The railway terminal on the Dalian side of Bohai Train Ferry is newly named as Lushun West Station. There are no platforms because no passenger trains pass through. There is a four-storey station building where the passengers can buy tickets on the first floor and go up to the second floor to enter the vessel through a concourse.
Compared to the Dalian Port Ferries near downtown Dalian, this ferry is located about 35 kilometers west of the downtown area, so that the ferry tariffs are set lower: 500 yuan for passenger car and 980 to 180 yuan for passengers (980 for special class, 680 for first class, 380 for second class, 260 for second class B, 240 for third class A, 200 for third class and 180 for third class B, as of August, 2009).