A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondola Transit and Cable Propelled Transit:
- Here’s something I’ve never seen before: Apparently Doppelmayr has announced that a new 3S lift for the Sochi 2014 winter games will be able to “quickly convert from passenger to car-carrying cabins as an alternative access route for vehicles up to an Olympic venue should the access road be blocked.” We need images, renderings and info on this, stat.
- A new urban gondola system to connect the downtown of Lima, Peru to San Cristobal Hill has been sent back to the municipality “to make some changes.” As we have virtually no information on this system to begin with, we have no idea what those changes may be.
Rendering of a gondola station in Lima Peru. Image via Living in Peru.
- A blogger suggests gondola transit for Seattle, Washington. The idea catches the attention of Seattle Transit Blog and sparks discussion on the topic.
- A London blogger rails against the London Thames Cable Car (Gondola) as being “not a significant transport solution” and a “conspicuous and media-friendly big engineering distraction.” He also mistakenly claims that the project has been “dropped.”
- Politicians in Himachal Pradesh province, India admit to exploring the addition of up to seven new aerial ropeways “in an attempt to reduce air pollution caused by vehicular traffic.”
- A mining company in South Africa looks to build one of the most ambitious bulk material ropeway systems in the world. It would include six separate loops of up to 15 km each.
- And for the select few of you who are fascinated by both cable transit solutions and bizarre North Korean propaganda films, check this out:
3 Comments
You have a great resource for urban gondolas here.
Quick question: In an earlier post “A Silver Bullet…” you talk about switching to 3S to “eliminate the ski lift ported into cities image”. Are there any physical advantages to large trams? It seems to me that all you’re really doing is making your stations much larger, your towers larger, and slowing down your frequency. The one advantage I can think of is having a conductor to make the trip safer – but safety in a 4-minute tram ride can’t be worse than a ride on an elevator with strangers.
Hi Matt,
Station size with 3S technology isn’t significantly larger than with basic MDG technology. Though you are right, towers currently are larger. Frequency isn’t also much of an issue as both MDG and 3S technology can operate at Less Than 1 Minute (LT1M) frequencies. It’s more an issue of capacity.
In response to that post, I remember a commenter suggested why not have an “urban concept” MDG system. It’s an intriguing proposition and one I’ve never considered. Do that and you eliminate some of the need for increased infrastructure size.
Here is Dopplemayr’s press release on the Sochi gondola. bit.ly/gGynYN