<p>  The purpose of this paper is to clarify the influence of rail submergence that occurs at the quay on the frictional characteristics of the interface between gantry crane wheels and rails. The characteristics serve as a basis for the dynamic simulation analysis of cranes that run away due to wind and crane designs. An experimental analysis system developed uniquely by the authors was used to carry out this research. Wheel was pressed to submerged rail, then the rail was slid. The friction force generated between the wheel and the rail was measured. This experimental analysis was conducted for contact pressure conditions that the ratios of the maximum Hertzian contact pressure to the yield stress of the material of the rail are approximately 1.76, 2.12 and 2.39. Under these various contact pressures, the ratio of the maximum static friction force under submergence conditions to the same friction force under dry conditions increased slightly. In contrast, when contact pressure conditions were nearly identical, the dynamic friction force under submergence and dry conditions was about same. Finally, the ratio of the dynamic friction coefficient to the static friction coefficient as a reference for designing cranes was shown and discussed.</p>