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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Hope again for reestablishment of ferry line

The former Garajonay Expres
The so-called 'interior ferry line', connecting the ports of La Gomera's capital San Sebastian, Playa de Santiago and Valle Gran Rey is back in the news once again. This time La Gomera's ruling ASG party's deputy in the Canarian parliament Jesus Ramos has recently stated that his negotiations will 'soon bear fruit'. He also said that three different ferry companies are still interested in running the service and that their proposals for the reintroduction of this ferry connection are already being studied.
The 'interior ferry line' ceased operations early 2012 despite having been declared an 'obligatory public service' by the Canarian government some years previously and the decision to subsidise resident's tickets further.
The ferry route had been operated by three different companies over the years and attracted 150.000 passengers per year on average before it ceased operating. It is worth remembering that by taking the now sorely missed ferry  it took just about 30 minutes to travel from Valle Gran Rey to the capital San Sebastian, while the public bus needs about 110 minutes to get there. The route by sea would also reduce the amount of traffic that currently has to squeeze through the centre of the national park, and that Valle Gran Rey only has one access road which is very narrow in places and prone to rockfalls.
We're keeping our fingers crossed...

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