Cable car stops da Penha until April for revisions that cost more ... - The Associated Press

Cable da Penha in Guimarães will be stopped until April 4 for two major interventions on the equipment. Part of it will be even flown to France for inspection.

Revisions will cost 340,000 euros to Turipenha, plus loss of income in the three months. According to the secretary of the board of the cooperative majority owned by the municipality, Paulo Barbosa, the value is higher than the turnover of a normal year, which is around 300,000 euros.

This stop on the chairlift happens in the months it is usually less demand from tourists who experience the journey of 1646 meters between Guimarães and the Penha hill. But the period of late autumn and early winter rainy’ve gone wrong to the cooperative, which, given the bad weather also recorded in the first months of 2013, admits that the result of the year that just ended is close to 2011 and well below the , 2012. “We have sold about 200 thousand trips,” responsible perspective, recalling that in 2012, the year of European Capital of Culture, will be about 250 thousand tickets sold.

“If adivinhássemos, we would have ended in mid-November,” said the PUBLIC Paulo Barbosa, explaining that in addition to rain, which deters tourists, the wind forces to stop the cable car, for security reasons. It happened on the first day of 2014. The Christmas period traditionally interesting for tourism in Guimarães, provided there is a patch of sun, ended up also marked by an incident with a cable that forced the interruption of service for three days to repair. On Sunday, sunny day, 600 people have used this equipment.

Now, who wants to bridge the gap of almost 400 meters between the city and the mount aboard the first ski lift installed in Portugal will have to wait until April 4, scheduled for completion in the fourth major revision date equipment. “The size and complexity of the intervention, which will be held by a French company specializing in this type of operations supported by the technical team Turipenha, precludes any possibility of continued operation of the cable car: a significant portion of the equipment, including the two stations and all bases of the posts will be subject to intervention, “explains the company.

Simultaneously, to avoid new stop this service next year, Turipenha anticipated five-year review of 41 clamps that hold so many booths to the pull cord, as well as the load test and inspection of the cable itself. And, according to Paulo Barbosa, the clips will even be sent within days to France, where only will return in March “is a long time, of course, but it brings us assurance of essential safety equipment in these, that as an automobile, is subject to periodic review, “said Paulo Barbosa.

When

return to work, the Cable Car will Penha updated prices. On average, the cost increases by 2.2%, but this varies from fare to fare. Individual ticket round trip, which cost 4.40 euros, will go to cost 4.5 euros, “exemplified this element of the management of the cooperative. “We are practicing a low unit price, when compared with the other lifts in the country,” commented Paulo Barbosa.