 Föri in Turku, Finland | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Föri |
| Owner | City of Turku[1] |
| Operator | Mobimar Oy[2] |
| Route | This side of the River–Other side of the River, 78 meters, 2 minutes.[1] |
| Builder | Ab Vulcan,Grand Duchy of Finland[3] |
| Completed | 1903[1] |
| Maiden voyage | 1904[1] |
| In service | 1904–Present[1] |
| Status | In service[1] |
| Notes | Oldest vehicle in daily operation in Finland.[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Chain ferry |
| Ramps | 2 |
| Installed power | 2 × Visedo Oy electric motor, ran on alternating days.[4] |
| Propulsion | Chain |
| Capacity | 75 passengers[1] |
| Crew | 1[1] |
Föri is acable ferry running across theRiver Aura inTurku,Finland. The ferry was completed in 1903, and it is the oldest vehicle still in daily operation in Finland. Föri is also the only municipally owned ferry in Finland. The name "Föri" is derived either from theSwedish word "färja", or from theEnglish word "ferry".[1]
If the river freezes over and the ice is thicker than 30 cm, the ferry is replaced by anice bridge.[1]
Föri was built at theAb Vulcan in 1903[1] to suit the needs of the employees at theBarker [fi] factory inTurku on the shore of theRiver Aura. The ferry was originally driven bysteam engines fed from awoodfired boiler. In 1955 the steam engines were replaced bydiesel engines, the crossing time was 1.5 minutes.[5] The ferry was operated by theCity of Turku till 2008, when the operation wasoutsourced toWest Coast Seaservices.[6]
In 2015 city authorities announced that the two diesel engines powering the Föri would be replaced by electric motors.[7][8] The old engines consumed 7500–8000 litres of fuel each year, with the average speed of ~2 km/h. According to the manufacturerVisedo Oy, the new electric engines should consume around "three kilowatts of electricity per hour [sic] in summer and four in winter". The average speed will remain unchanged and the ferry will still have dual motors for redundancy. Each of the two engines consists of a DC/DC converter to increase the voltage from the batteries, and a permanent magnet motor drive to transform the electrical signal into mechanical energy. Both of the two motors can also be used simultaneously if more power is needed due to e.g. ice conditions. The new system is also eight tonnes lighter than the diesel engines and hydraulic motor it has replaced.[4][8] This retrofit was done byMobimar Oy, and it took place in the spring of 2017.[2]