Selkora Vael Selkora Island Transit

About the authority · Selkora Vael

Five islands. One way. Since 1949.

Selkora Vael is the public transit authority of Selkora, owned by the city and answerable to it. We run the metro under the straits, the ferries across the Velmar, and the old funicular up the cliffs — 341,000 islanders’ worth of ordinary journeys, every day.

The city

Selkora, the island heart

Selkora sits in the middle of the Velmar — the Silver Sea — a ring of five islands around a sheltered water: Korsel at the centre, the cliffs of Skalda to the north, Garsel’s orchards to the east, and the small outer isles of Brenna and Mavsel holding the south. The climate is mild and wet-edged; fog in the early morning, silver light by noon, and a wind off the water that locals call veymar and dress for without thinking.

The city grew the way harbour cities do — quay by quay. For most of its history the only way between islands was a hired boat and a negotiation. That changed in 1949, and the network has been knitting the archipelago together ever since: two metro lines under the straits, two ferry routes across them, and one funicular up the only hill that matters.

Getting around is the city’s common ground. The mayor rides the M1. The fish crates ride the F1. The tourists ride everything twice.

The concourse of Kordan station, warm stone and brass, with islanders crossing under the departure clock.
Kordan · Heart Gate, the centre of the network — every line but the funicular is a short walk from its clock.

Our history

From four boats to five lines.

  1. 1904

    The Cliff Climb opens

    Skalda’s fishing families petition the harbour council for “a way up that does not ruin the knees”. The funicular they get — two counterbalanced cars on a single track — still runs today, rebuilt twice but never rerouted.

  2. 1949

    Selkora Vael is founded

    After the hard winter of 1948, when private boat operators simply stopped sailing for six weeks, the city assembly votes to bring every crossing under one public authority. Selkora Vael begins service on 14 March 1949 with four boats, one funicular and a promise: alla sel, en vael — every island, one way.

  3. 1968

    The Kelryn Tunnel

    Nineteen years of ferries in all weather make the case for a fixed link. The Kelryn Tunnel is bored beneath the strait between Skalda and Korsel — at the time, the longest under-sea tunnel in the Velmar Islands — and the M1 becomes the network’s spine.

  4. 1987

    East under the Aurryn

    The second tunnel reaches Garsel: orchards, glasshouses and the airfield join the metro. Selkora stops being a city you leave by boat alone.

  5. 2011

    One ticket for everything

    Zone fares replace six overlapping tariffs. From this year on, a single ticket is valid on every mode — a rule the authority regards as its second founding promise.

  6. 2024

    The quiet fleet

    The last diesel ferry, Vindra, is retired with a flotilla escort and a brass band. Every vessel on the Velmar now sails electric, charged overnight at Altakai and Skaldakai.

The language of the network

A little Selvar goes a long way.

Selvar is the everyday language of the islands, and the network speaks it first: every station and line carries its Selvar name alongside English. The names are built from a small set of old harbour words — learn a dozen and the whole map starts to read itself.

Kordan is kor + dan — heart gate. Skaldakai is cliff quay. Kelrynvael, the M1, is the way under the spring channel. Nothing on our signs is decoration; it is all description.

A short Selvar glossary — the pieces the names are made of
Selvar English Selvar English
sel island tam market
kor heart hal hall
mar sea tel orchard
vel silver nol north
kai quay mav south
dan gate aur dawn, east
lum lantern, light ves dusk, west
bren beacon vey wind
skal cliff ven path, lane
tir tower alta old
ryn channel, strait vael way, line, journey
kel spring, well alla every, all
gar grove, garden en one

The fleet

Boats with names, cars with manners.

Selkoran custom says a vessel without a name will not find its quay in fog. We have never tested it.

  • Lum & Bren

    Funicular cars, K1

    Named for lantern and beacon; they have departed together, always, since 1904.

  • Korsel

    Ferry, F1

    The workhorse of the south run. 240 passengers, 40 bicycles.

  • Aurlin

    Ferry, F2

    “Dawn light.” The first electric boat in the fleet, 2019.

  • Veslin

    Ferry, F2

    “Dusk light.” Sister to Aurlin; carries the evening harbour run.

  • Maren

    Ferry, F1 relief

    Small, stubborn, beloved. Covers refits and the mid-summer crowds.

  • The network in numbers

    Lines
    5
    Stations & quays
    17
    Step-free
    16 of 17
    Journeys each year
    38.4 m
    Boats on time, 2025
    96.2%

Accessibility

The network is for everyone, or it is not finished.

16 of our 17 stations and quays are step-free from street to platform or pontoon. Every ferry carries a boarding ramp and crew trained to use it well; the funicular cars take wheelchairs and prams in the lower saloon; every metro train has two level-boarding doors marked in amber on the platform edge.

The exception, for now, is Tamhal · Market Hall, where the 1968 lift is being replaced and the station is not step-free until spring 2027. The nearest step-free alternatives are Kordan and Altakai, both one stop away, and the crew-assisted F1 boats call at Altakai all day.

At low tide the pontoon ramp at Brennakai steepens; crew are on the quay for every sailing and will board you first, not last. If you would like a hand anywhere on the network, ask any member of staff — or call +296 4 550 4900 up to two hours before you travel and we will meet you at the gate.

  • Step-free routes are drawn on the network map — look for the step-free note on each station.
  • Assistance dogs travel free and are welcome everywhere, including the upper funicular saloon.
  • Reduced fares for Selkora Care Card holders on every ticket type — see fares & passes.
  • All departure boards pair every announcement with text, and this website is built to be read aloud.

How we are run

Owned by the city, judged by the timetable.

Selkora Vael is a public authority owned by the City of Selkora, governed by a board appointed by the city assembly, and led since 2021 by Director General Maren Kelva — a former F1 skipper who still holds her licence and, once a year, a tiller. Fares are set annually by the assembly in public session; the current tariff has applied since 1 July 2026.

We publish our punctuality every month on the noticeboards at Kordan, Skaldakai and Veykai, and we count a boat as late from the minute a Selkoran would: the moment the gangway should have touched the quay.

Headquarters

Vaelhal
Tamven 4
SK-1004 Selkora
Velmar Islands

Two minutes from Kordan — leave by the Tamven exit and follow the brass fish set into the paving.

Contact us