3S Urban Gondola Approved in Toulouse: Téléphérique Urbain Sud ("South Urban Cable Car")

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Toulouse is set to become the third French city to build an urban gondola (after Grenoble and Brest) and the first city in the world to implement 3S/TDG technology for pure public transit purposes.

On December 21, local officials voted in favour of the 3km long “South Urban Cable Car” (French: Téléphérique Urbain Sud) and subsequently awarded the €54.6 million (US$57.0 million) project to a POMA-led consortium.

CHU Rangueil station platform. Image from SMTC-Tisseo.

Toulouse, the fourth largest city in France (city pop: 460,000, metro pop: 1,200,000), is fairly well served by a transit network which consists of two metro lines, 2 suburban rail lines, 2 tram lines, and many bus routes.

With the introduction of the cable car, transport connectivity will be strengthened in the city’s southwestern area — in particular between the major nodal points of Oncople (research centre), Rangueil Hospital (210,000 patient visits/year) and Paul Sabatier University (30,000 students).

Ropeline profile of Toulouse’s urban cable car. Image from SMTC Tisséo.

Based on existing maps, it appears that the cable car will be integrated into Metro Line B and Bus Line 5. Traveling at an average speed of 5m/s (18km/h), commute times between the two end terminals have been reduced to 10 minutes (from 30 minutes previously).

Thirty five person cabins arriving as frequent as 90 seconds will provide a high level of service to the estimated 7,000 daily riders. This figure would be comparable to many other Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) feeder lines such as those currently operating in Portland, Constantine, and Medellin.

While the first CPT line has just been approved, local officials are thinking ahead and have already included plans for extending the cable car throughout Toulouse’s southern periphery.

Toulouse’s urban gondola will be integrated with L5 and Metro Line B. Image from SMTC Tisséo.

Approved cable car line drawn in dark blue. Future extensions marked by thick blue lines. Image by SMTC Tisséo.

But before that happens, there is still much work ahead for the South Urban Cable Car project. The next steps will involve detailed studies and many rounds of public consultation. If all goes according to plan, Toulouse’s urban gondola will open its doors to passengers in 2020.
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