Welcome!
The Transporter bridge will open in the spring!
After four years of major renovation works, the gondola of the Pont Transbordeur cross again the river Charente. From April to october, the Pont Transbordeur allows cyclists and pedestrians to reach both banks of Rochefort and Échillais.
The Pont Transbordeur is open everyday from Saturday 30th of March to Sunday 3rd of november 2024:
Opening at 10.30 on monday morning / last crossing 15 minutes before closure time
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From March 30th and April: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.00
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May and June: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.30
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July and August: 9.30 - 13.00 and 14.00 - 19.00
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September: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.30
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October to November 3rd: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 17.30
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From November 4th to April 2025: annual closure
Buy your tickets in the ticket office on the Rochefort's bank and in the 'Maison du Transbordeur' on the Échillais' bank.
Rates (they are subject to change in 2024):
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One-way ticket adult: 2.10 €
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Return ticket adult: 3.20 €
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Reduced rates* (return ticket and groups up to 15 people): 2.60 €
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One-way ticket children from 6 to 11: 1.50 €
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Return ticket children from 6 to 11: 2 €
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Free for children under 6
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*10 crossings Card - season 2024: 12 €
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* One month unlimimed crossings card: 9 €
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*Unlimited crossings Card - season 2024: 25 €
*Cards are personnal and can't be used for many people
Maison du Transbordeur - Visitor centre
In 2003, the 'Maison du Transbordeur' (Transporter Bridge visitor centre) opened in a converted ferry boat shed, in Échillais, allowing the Transporter Bridge to become a fully-fledged tourist attraction.
Welcome to this unique visitor centre that celebrates the rich history and engineering marvel of the transporter bridge! Discover the captivating exhibition of Ferdinand Arnodin in 2024, showcasing the innovative and artistic legacy of this visionary engineer.
Free entrance.
Opening hours of the 'Maison du Transbordeur':
Open everyday from the 30th of March to the 3rd of November 2024:
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From March 30th and April: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.00
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May and June: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.30
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July and August: 9.30 - 13.00 and 14.00 - 19.00
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September: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.30
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From October to November 3rd: 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 17.30
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From November 4th to April 2025: annual closure
Discover the Pont Transbordeur
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Access on Echillais bank:
Maison du Transbordeur
rue de Martrou
17620 ECHILLAIS
Phone: +33 (0)5 16 84 37 28
Car parks (Parking Pont levant) are 700 metres far from the museum.
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Access on Rochefort's bank:
Avenue Jacques Demy
17300 ROCHEFORT
Car parks are 700 metres far from the ticket office.
Access
Link
This bridge developed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin and dating from 1900 provided a means of crossing from one bank to the other, without hindering shipping traffic. A gondola, suspended from a trolley running on rails, travels back and forth between Echillais and Rochefort. As well as the cyclists and foot passengers that use it today, it used to allow cars, carts and horses on board.
The Transporter Bridge of Rochefort is the last bridge of this type in France.
On 4 February at noon, the Transporter Bridge ceased to operate.
A Vertical-lift Bridge replaced it to cross the Charente river. A hidden counterweight system allowed the deck of the bridge to be raised between the concrete piers, like an enormous elevator, enabling boats to pass. The Viaduc de l'estuaire was inaugurated in 1991 to replace the vertical-lift bridge. It provided a constant thoroughfare for road vehicles, 30 metres above the River Charente.
The world of Transporter Bridges
Of the twenty or so transporter bridges that were built around the world, only eight remain today:
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The Bizkaia Bridge, the world's first transporter bridge, near Bilbao (Spain),
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The Martrou Transporter Bridge at Rochefort and Echillais (France),
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The Osten-Hemmoor and Rendsburg transporter bridges (Germany),
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The three British transporter bridges in Middlesbrough, Newport and Warrington (United Kingdom),
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The Transporter Bridge of La Boca in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Having come together to form an association, the authorities that manage these Transporter Bridges have made a joint application to UNESCO to be listed as a World Heritage series.
