Some ideas of crossing the
Yellow Sea from the
Shandong Peninsula to the
Liaodong Peninsula by means of other than the ships, such as the bridges or undersea tunnels, have been discussed in the history of China, particularly since the late 19th century when many people moved to
Northeast China in the
Chuang Guandong population move and the
Beiyang Fleet was stationed in
Weihaiwei,
Shandong, and
Lushun,
Liaoning. However, as a more practical plan, Bohai Train Ferry was approved at the national level in December 2003; its construction being started in full swing in October 2004, its test operation in November 2006, and its full operation in 2007. It is the second oceanic train ferry in China after the Guangdong–Hainan Ferry (part of the
Guangdong–Hainan Railway) and is the longest train ferry in the country. The Bohai Train Ferry travels . Currently, there are six daily services (Dalian-Yantai: 09:30-16:00, 16:30-23:00 and 23:20-06:20; Yantai-Dalian: 05:20-11:50, 14:10-20:40 and 22:00-04:30; as of August 2009) by three vessels: the Sinorail Bohai No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, each accommodating up to 50 railway freight cars, 50 twenty-ton trucks, 25 passenger cars and 400 passengers. A new branch line of the Dalian-Lushun railway and a new highway branch were built to connect to this railway ferry. The ferry is in the northernmost part of the newly developed area on Yangtou Bay () of the Bohai Sea that includes
World Peace Park, the new development zone and the universities (the Software and Information Engineering Departments of Dalian Jiaotong University and Dalian University of Foreign Economy and Trade ()). Plans for a
tunnel across the Bohai strait have been developed. ==Lüshun West railway station==