# Newhaven to Dieppe Service 2015 onwards?



## Erimus

Lloyds Loading List today report:-

Calais-Dover operator MyFerryLink is now the sole candidate in the running to operate the Dieppe-Newhaven ferry service under a new public concession to take effect on 1 January 2015.


It follows the pull-out last week of DFDS which currently operates the service on behalf of the Seine Maritime Council using the latter’s commercial name, Transmanche Ferries.

P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries had already withdrawn their initial interest.

A single vessel, the Côte d’Albâtre, plies the route, with two daily round trips. The ferry, the Côte d’Albâtre, is held in reserve. The vessel is owned by the Council as is the port of Newhaven.

Commenting on DFDS’ decision not to proceed further with tender, the company’s VP, Shipping Division, Peder Gellert Pedersen, said: "We do not believe we will be able to satisfy the new conditions laid down by the owners of the route. 
"Among other things, the conditions contain an exclusivity requirement, which means that we can’t pool our general resources, our procurement volumes, large fleet and other resources in order to benefit from economies of scale."


Doubts have been cast on the long-term future of the service due to heavy operating losses and growing public sector budgetary restraint.


It benefits from an annual subsidy from the Council of around €14 million in order to balance the books.


The Council has underlined that its decision on whether or not to continue the service will depend on consultations with potential candidates tendering for the new concession. 

geoff


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## trotterdotpom

Sounds like the days of this long running service might be numbered. I believe it was started by the Canadian army in 1942.

John T


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## howardws

trotterdotpom said:


> Sounds like the days of this long running service might be numbered. I believe it was started by the Canadian army in 1942.
> 
> John T


19th August 1942 to be precise.


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## Erimus

howardws said:


> 19th August 1942 to be precise.


Interesting stuff...What time was first sailing??..and were the passengers all wearing Khaki..

geoff


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## billyboy

Actualy this service was run by the LBSCR (London Brighton & south coast railway) From 1862 - 1922.
1923 _ 1947 by the SR (Southern Rail)
1948-1962 by the British Transport comission
1963 - 1978 by British rail board
1979 Sealink
Jointly with...........
1862 - 1908 Societe de Chemin de fer de L Ouest
1909 - 1935 Societe de chemin de fer de L Etat
1936 - societe Nationale des Chemins de fer
The first two ships were paddlers. Brighton and Victoria. which achieved 17 knots. So, as you can see cross channel steamers were around way before 1942 on this route. Needless to say being an ex Newhaven man I sailed on the ss Londres and the ss Brighton for a couple of years.
The above dates taken fro a book "Cross -channel" by Ambrose Greenway. (ISBN 0 7110 1069 2)


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## Erimus

Many thanks...that is really some history.

geoff


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## R396040

Hope the service continues.
My last ship was MV Senlac on thr Newhaven Dieppe service in mid/late seventies
Suart


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## jimg0nxx

How come it was run by the Canadian Army in 1942? Did they have some sort of pact with German Occupiers in Dieppe?


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## howardws

jimg0nxx said:


> How come it was run by the Canadian Army in 1942? Did they have some sort of pact with German Occupiers in Dieppe?


The date I quoted was that of the Dieppe raid.


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## alaric

Erimus said:


> Lloyds Loading List today report:-
> 
> Calais-Dover operator MyFerryLink is now the sole candidate in the running to operate the Dieppe-Newhaven ferry service under a new public concession to take effect on 1 January 2015.
> 
> 
> It follows the pull-out last week of DFDS which currently operates the service on behalf of the Seine Maritime Council using the latter’s commercial name, Transmanche Ferries.
> 
> P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries had already withdrawn their initial interest.
> 
> A single vessel, the Côte d’Albâtre, plies the route, with two daily round trips. The ferry, the Côte d’Albâtre, is held in reserve. The vessel is owned by the Council as is the port of Newhaven.
> 
> Commenting on DFDS’ decision not to proceed further with tender, the company’s VP, Shipping Division, Peder Gellert Pedersen, said: "We do not believe we will be able to satisfy the new conditions laid down by the owners of the route.
> "Among other things, the conditions contain an exclusivity requirement, which means that we can’t pool our general resources, our procurement volumes, large fleet and other resources in order to benefit from economies of scale."
> 
> 
> Doubts have been cast on the long-term future of the service due to heavy operating losses and growing public sector budgetary restraint.
> 
> 
> It benefits from an annual subsidy from the Council of around €14 million in order to balance the books.
> 
> 
> The Council has underlined that its decision on whether or not to continue the service will depend on consultations with potential candidates tendering for the new concession.
> 
> geoff


Pity. The preferred route for my pilgrimages to Le Mans.
Never understood why it was not more popular and better used.
Cut out many miles of boring motorway travel, and good ships in the last few years.


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## Erimus

We once spent 7 hours outside Newhaven waiting for seas to subside so we could dock.....never went back.......

geoff


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## alaric

Erimus said:


> We once spent 7 hours outside Newhaven waiting for seas to subside so we could dock.....never went back.......
> 
> geoff


Probably like that again today. In weather like this, ashore is good!


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## meechingman

Goes back even further than that Billyboy!

In my research for Our Newhaven, burrowing through the Newhaven Museum archives found a service as far back as 1816 and the 'proper' service starting in 1847 with the Brighton I, Dieppe I and Newhaven I.

http://ournewhaven.org.uk/page_id__2345_path__0p69p87p70p.aspx


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## ninabaker

I have very fond memories of Dieppe, where my late parents had, initially a flat in the 1980s and then a house up at the top of the town near the cemetery. I have somewhat less fond memories of the ferry service which has given constant trouble one way and another. 

The town council have, in all fairness, tried every possible type of vessel to try and keep a service going. The snag is that the crossing is so long compared to the others. One of the knock-on problems from that is that the ferries do not link up properly with the rail services. On one ghastly, never to be forgotten trip, when I absolutely had to get quicklly to Dieppe to sort out some legal thing after my parents died, I got the last train from Brighton to Newhaven, arriving at 0200 and sat on the doorstep of the (shut) reception building) until it opened at 0600 for the first ferry of the day. I sat in thick fog with only screaming seagulls for company - not a very nice experience.

Once upon a time you could step straight off the ferry and onto the Paris train on the quayside. Now you have to trudge through the town to the station and there is no direct service either to Paris. Now, with the superfast Eurotunnel train to Paris, I suspect this crossing is ultimately doomed. I cannot think how the town council justifies that level of subsidy to its ratepayers.

nina


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## Erimus

Lloyds Loading List today advises:-

France’s Seine Maritime Council has rejected MyFerryLink’s bid to operate the Dieppe-Newhaven ferry service under a new public concession due to take effect on

1 January 2015.



The Eurotunnel subsidiary had been the only candidate tendering for the concession following in***bent DFDS’ decision at the end of last month to pull-out of the race.



P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries had already withdrawn their initial interest.



The head of the Council, Nicolas Rouly, told the local media that none of the candidates had been able to meet the terms and conditions of the tender which had been drawn up based on the experience of the current concession over the seven years.



This has seen the ferry crossing benefit from an annual subsidy from the Council of around €14 million in order to balance the books.



Doubtless the new tender had put tougher financial constraints on potential operators.



Rouly appeared to rule out the prospect of the closure of the service which has been mooted over the past couple of years given the heavy cash drain.

"The concession runs until 1 January 2015. This gives us time to present a new project," he added.

He went on to hint that the Council would be looking to attract new investors from the public and private sector to fund the service.

If time does run short with the re-issued tender, the Council could ask DFDS to continue operating the service for an additional year, a spokesman for the Port of Dieppe told Lloyds Loading List. 

geoff


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## john shaw

The crux, for me, is price. I personally (from a selfish p.o.v.) hope the service continues, if only to give an option for Channel crossings,and promote competitive pricing.

As the owner of a house in France for 8 years (resident in France 5 of them),and originating from the North of England, I've only found it cheaper to use this service once in all that time, during perhaps 40 return crossings

Dover/Calais or Dover/Dunkerque was normally the cheapest,depending on sailing times- though DFDS seem of late to charge the same price for each of these crossings, making the Dunkerque route (approx 20 miles further by road each way, and an hour extra onboard each way) less appealing.The road network to Calais once leaving the A16 is also better.

For me, from Rouen to Calais is approx 2-2.5 hours, Rouen/Dieppe one hour (but slower roads so pro-rata much more distance difference). There's about 100 miles saving using Dieppe, so around 2 gallons of fuel .So,with up to 200 miles round trip saving and up to 3 hours time benefit,it should be a no brainer. EXCEPT, the crossing ( without any delays) is 5 hours rather than the approx 1.25 hours Dover/Calais, plus a slower route out of Newhaven to meet the major road network.

Add in to the mix a usual premium of at least £50, often £60, each way for the Dieppe route over the Calais route, and it's generally a better deal to do the longer Calais route- plus, there are additional sailings in the event of a missed ferry, whereas it's tough luck for the Dieppe route, there are only 2 sailings per day.

On the occasion I did use the route, it cost only £39 each way- this price is again currently on offer, as it's out of season. That made it my first choice,and it would remain so - IF an operator could run the service at that price. WHICH, obviously, they can't if they are currently receiving a 14 million euro subsidy.

I fear the service is doomed..................


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## Ron Stringer

My wife and I used the overnight service once, as foot passengers, when going to pick up a car in Beaune. At Newhaven all the waiting rooms and seating was occupied by backpackers we had to wait until all the vehicles (truckers first, cars second) had loaded before the foot passengers were allowed aboard.

The train to Newhaven was on time, the ferry was late and we had to hang around on the platform waiting until we were allowed aboard. Then we found that all the seating was occupied and had to make do with sitting on deck.

Of course we were late arriving in Dieppe at about 6 a.m. and our rail connection to Paris had left. After a long search we found someone on the station who told us that there would be a train leaving in 3 minutes for Rouen, where we could get a connection for Paris and catch the TGV to Beaune. Don't believe anyone that tells you that SNCF service (apart from the TGV) is better than BR and its successors(Jester). We had to run across the sidings to reach the platform indicated and just managed to catch that train. 

I was less than impressed by the quality of the service and the lack of consideration for anyone other than truckers. I realise that they are the main source of income for the ferries and I believe that they deserve the best but that doesn't mean others should be treated as cattle.

So my first trip was the last.

At one time or another I have taken the car by all of the cross-Channel routes (well, as far North as Harwich-Hook) and the Newhaven-Dieppe was by far the worst.


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## meechingman

john shaw said:


> EXCEPT, the crossing ( without any delays) is 5 hours rather than the approx 1.25 hours Dover/Calais, plus a slower route out of Newhaven to meet the major road network.


5 hours? Surely not. Should be 4 hours max. The two yellow sisters could do it in a little over 3 hours but fuel consumption would be excessive.

8 minutes after leaving Newhaven you're on the A26 east or westbound. 15 minutes after leaving Newhaven you can be on the A23 heading north to the motorway network. Not as fast as Dover, for sure, but not as bad as it once was.

Is the route doomed? Let's see what Seine Maritime can do, as they have a vested interest in Newhaven port as well as the well-being of Dieppe.


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## billyboy

There was a time you could almost set your watch by the arrival and departure of the Newhaven Mail boats. But, Alas the good old days of the Londres, Brighton, Lisiux and Arromanches have long since gone.
I recall them being able to get into Newhaven in some terrible weather too. even when Dover was closed they could still get in at Newhaven


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## meechingman

Absolutely, I could (and often did!) leave school and somehow find myself up near the fort or at the 'bunker' in Hillcrest Road before going home. I'd know for certain that there would be a mail boat just arriving when I got there and would usually know which one it would be.

And the reason for the punctuality, and the crossings in conditions that had the Dover ships scurrying for shelter, is that mail contract.


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## ian fears

living next door in seaford I love this crossing , especially when going to the south of france really hope it continues , its a great shame that that the good old days of a daytrip is not now viable


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## LouisB

R396040 said:


> Hope the service continues.
> My last ship was MV Senlac on thr Newhaven Dieppe service in mid/late seventies
> Suart


When the Senlac went off service for repairs the Vortigern was called in to fill the gap. She was short of staff so I sailed on her as electrical engineer/ 8-12 e.r. watch keeper. Very well built and strong ship with large cross beam bilge drains from the vehicle deck to opposite side wing tanks to keep the vessel upright in case of flooding - quite advanced design for the day, considering the various disasters that befell later through deck ferries!! Eventually sailed on her to lay up on the river Fal where I spent many glorious summer months shipkeeping before moving to Venice to join a passenger ship - happy days.

LouisB. (Scribe)


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## tigger54

john shaw said:


> The crux, for me, is price. I personally (from a selfish p.o.v.) hope the service continues, if only to give an option for Channel crossings,and promote competitive pricing.
> ................


I have found that due to the way the fares are calculated that with LD/DFDS it is wise to check the prices for two singles as well as return.
I was over for July and at Christmas £39 single each way both times, yet the return booking was £120 and £138 I think ???
We have just booked for late June £39 outwards. I have not booked the return in July yet but looks like £39 again (£165 for a return ???)

It pays to check


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