The ''Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen–Meilen'', or Horgen–Meilen car ferry, is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

car ferry that operates across

Lake Zurich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

between the lakeside towns of

Horgen Horgen () is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the mu ...

and

Meilen Meilen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than ...

. The ferry route is situated south of the city of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, and the ferry avoids a round trip by road of some by road via that city.

History

The company was founded in 1932, with operation commencing in November 1933. Initially the service was run with the single ferry ''Schwan'', built for the opening, and providing a half-hourly service. Service was suspended between 1942 and 1946, as a consequence of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1946, the ferry was reintroduced with an hourly service. Over time, demand rose so that a continuous shuttle operation had to be introduced. In 1968 a replacement vessel, also known as ''Schwan'', was launched and took over the service, providing a half-hourly service. The propeller of the 1933-built ''Schwan'' is displayed at the Horgen ferry terminal. In 1973 a new approach to the Horgen ferry terminal was constructed, with a bridge over the lakeside railway line, allowing the previously used

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

to be closed. Over the following years, four further ferries were constructed, allowing a more frequent service to be provided. These were the ''Meilen'' (1979), the ''Horgan'' (1991), the ''Zürisee'' (1999) and the ''Burg'' (2003). Also in 1999, the second ''Schwan'' was rebuilt. In 2017 a further new ferry was built, named ''Meilen'', in order to replace the 1979-built vessel of the same name. The earlier vessel was dismantled the following year, although its wheelhouse and

Voith Schneider propeller The Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) is a specialized marine propulsion system (MPS) manufactured by the Voith Group based on a cyclorotor design. It is highly maneuverable, being able to change the direction of its thrust almost instantaneousl ...

were retained to form part of an exhibition on ferries at the

Swiss Museum of Transport The Swiss Museum of Transport or ''Verkehrshaus der Schweiz'' (literally "Transportation House of Switzerland") in Lucerne opened in July 1959 and exhibits all forms of transport including trains, automobiles, ships and aircraft as well as communi ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Operation

On the Horgen side of the lake, the ferries operate from a ferry terminal with its own road-bridge across the lakeside railway line, and some on foot along the lakeside promenade from

Horgen railway station Horgen railway station is a railway station in Switzerland, situated on the banks of Lake Zürich in the town of Horgen. The station is located on the Lake Zürich left bank railway line and is served by lines S2 and S8 of the Zürich S-Bahn. ...

. On the Meilen side of the lake, the ferries operate from a ferry terminal on ''Seestrasse'', a similar distance from

Meilen railway station Meilen is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Zürich, situated in the municipality of Meilen. The station is located on the Lake Zürich right bank railway line. History The station was opened in 1893, at the same time as the Lake Zür ...

. Ferries operate from early morning to late evening. Ferries operate every 10 minutes throughout the day, with frequencies increasing to every 6 or 7 minutes in peak periods. The crossing time is 10 minutes. In 2011, 69,950 ferry crossings were operated, carrying in total 2,192,175 people, 1,226,540 cars, and 99,470 trucks. By 2019 these figures had changed slightly, with 68,646 crossings, 2,033,215 people carried, and 1,336,330 vehicles carried.

Fleet

Current fleet

The ferry service is operated with a fleet of five motor ferries:

Former fleet

The ferry service has previously operated two other ferries:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zurichsee-Fahre Horgen-Meilen Transport in the canton of Zürich Ferry transport in Switzerland Shipping companies of Switzerland Lake Zurich Horgen Meilen Transport companies established in 1932 1932 establishments in Switzerland