Älvsnabben is a ferry line trafficking on the river

Göta älv The Göta älv (; "River of (the) Geats") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic ...

in Gothenburg, Sweden since the 1990s. Älvsnabben is operated by Styrsöbolaget on a commission from

Västtrafik Västtrafik is the agency responsible for public transport services involving buses, ferries, trains, and the Gothenburg tram network in the county of Västra Götaland, Sweden (plus Kungsbacka Municipality). It was established with the Västra ...

,Älvtrafiken
''Styrsöbolaget''. Accessed on 21 June 2015. and has the time table number 285.

History

Älvsnabben started traffic on 2 May 1990 with the ships ''Älvsnabben 1'' and ''Älvsnabben 2'', with a capacity of 54 passengers each. On parts of their route from Lilla Bommen to Eriksberg, the end stop at the time, the maximum speed allowed for the ships was 18 knots. In 1991 the route was extended to Klippan. As the traffic increased, the ships were upgraded to hold 100 passengers and the ship ''Disa'' was introduced as an additional ship. In 1993 the traffic was complemented with the ship ''Älvsnabben 3''. The ships ''Älvsnabben 4'' and ''Älvsnabben 5'' were taken into traffic from 1994 to 1995, at which time the two first ships were sold.Vår historia
''Styrsöbolaget''. Accessed on 21 June 2015.

Routes

Älvsnabben connects both sides of Göta älv on a zig-zag pattern between the mainland and Hisingen on the part between the

Götaälvbron Götaälvbron (Göta älv Bridge) was a bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to ...

and Älvsborgsbron bridges. The stops are Lilla Bommen, Stenpiren (formerly called Rosenlund), Lindholmspiren, Slottsberget and Klippan.

Älvsnabbare

There is even an extra line called "Älvsnabbare", with the time table number 286, trafficking between Stenpiren and Lindholmspiren on weekdays. This line departs every 6 minutes at peak time and is free of charge. Älvsnabbare started traffic in 2001 and has been free of charge since spring 2011, as the municipality of Gothenburg pays for all costs on the line.

Ships

Älvsnabben is trafficked by the ships ''Älvsnabben 4'' and ''Älvsnabben 5'', with ''Älvsnabben 3'' serving as a reserve ship. Älvsnabbare is trafficked by the ships ''Älveli'', ''Älvfrida'' and ''Älv-Vira''. * ''Älvsnabben 3'': 298 passengers, 134 sitting places. * ''Älvsnabben 4'': 448 passengers, 158 sitting places in the saloon. * ''Älvsnabben 5'': 448 passengers, 158 sitting places in the saloon. * ''Skarven'': 298 passengers, 195 sitting places in the saloons. * ''Älv-Vira'': 300 passengers, 34 sitting places. * ''Älveli'': 298 passengers, 80 bicycles.Älveli och Älvfrida
''Styrsöbolaget''. Accessed on 5 September 2015. * ''Älvfrida'': 298 passengers, 80 bicycles. * ''Elvy'', electricity hybrid ferry with a capacity of four hours of power. 300 passengers and 80 bicycles. In 2015 two new ships were taken into traffic for Älvsnabbare, ''Älveli'' and ''Älvfrida'', owned by Västtrafik, and in 2019 the electricity hybrid ferry ''Elvy''. The ship has a capacity of 298 passengers and 80 bicycles in a saloon throughout the ship, so they can avoid turning around after disembarking. They have a maximum speed of 11 knots which is also the maximum speed for ships on Göta älv.Eriksson, Lars; Ahlvik, Peter (December 2007):
Älvsnabben – Inventering av åtgärder för minskade avgasemissioner
, ecotraffic.se. Accessed on 15 November 2015. They are both equipped with diesel-electrical machinery and with possibility to operate partly or wholly under electrical power after modification.

References

Notes

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Älvsnabben Transport in Gothenburg Ferry routes