Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik

30
Nov

2016

System Dossier: Yenimahalle Teleferik (Ankara Gondola)

The Yenimahalle Teleferik. Image by Steven Dale.

The Turkish capital of Ankara demonstrates effectively how cable propelled transit (CPT) can efficiently complement an already existent public transit network. The MDG 10-passenger gondola lift from Leitner ropeways connects the hillside towns of Sentepe and Yenimahalle with Ankara’s metro system. Installed in 2014, the cable car system was extended in 2015 making it the longest urban gondola on the Eurasian continent at 3.2 km. Like many other situations seen in South America, this innovative means of transportation provides an alternative solution to combating the high traffic volume experienced in dense neighbourhoods.

Approaching Station Two of the Yenimahalle Teleferik from Station Three. Image by Steven Dale.

An incredibly fascinating quality about the Yenimahalle system is its relationship with the surrounding urban environment. With limited land space, developers had to devise a creative approach to each station’s design and location. The initial station, which is integrated with the metro, is built above a four-way intersection! One of the stations occupies a traffic island, while another straddles the road, allowing traffic to flow underneath. The clever placement of each station exemplifies CPT’s ability to flexibly adapt into a high-density, metropolitan setting.

Street level of the Yenimahalle Teleferik, Station Four. Image by Steven Dale.

Another point worth discussing is the impact the cable car has had on the city. Seen throughout multiple vantage points, the cable car has effectively become a noticeable attraction to the city. Passengers can be observed riding the gondola for leisurely purposes just as much as for commuting purposes. On the gondola, riders can enjoy the panoramic views of the city at day or night. Additional features built in the system such as heated cabins and LED lighting only add to the ridership experience.
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For a more fulsome review of the Ankara system, follow the links below.
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ANKARA SERIES

Read Part 1 – Intro

Read Part 2 – Explore

Read Part 3 – Photos

Read Part 4 – Station 1

Read Part 5 – Station 2

Read Part 6 – Station 3

Read Part 7 – Station 4

Read Part 8 – Conclusion

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Opened 2014
Length (km) 3.2
Stations 4
Capacity (pphpd) 2400
Ridership (monthly) 360000 (phase 1)
Fare Free

 



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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik / System Dossier
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09
Nov

2015

Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik (Part 8 — Conclusions)

Yenimhalle Teleferik Ankara Cable Car

The Yenimahalle Teleferik. Image by Steven Dale.

As I’ve stated throughout this series, the Yenimahalle Teleferik (Ankara Cable Car) is remarkably innovative in its station design and can lay claim to a wide variety of ‘firsts.’ Those firsts are all related to matters of urban design, though not from a technology perspective. All of the innovation is in its relationship to the surrounding urban environment.

That’s important because the cable car industry hasn’t historically shown much concern to those matters. The Yenimahalle Teleferik is therefore emblematic of a dynamic industry in flux.

The growth in the urban gondola industry over the last decade has been breathtaking. We’ve seen so many installations go into operation and so many advances in the technology, it’s almost hard to remember how nascent this industry really is.

What’s happening in Ankara, however, I suspect is a watershed moment for the industry — or at the very least for the system’s manufacturer, Leitner. The Yenimahalle Teleferik shows Leitner coming to grips with the urban fundamentals of what is undeniably their urban future.

Careful industry players will recognize Yenimahalle for the turning point it is. It is a system that is debating what it means for a gondola system to actually be a part of the urban fabric. Given the complexity of the urban environment the system needed to contend with, that’s a question system designers could’ve simply ignored.

Instead, they doubled-down and tried to navigate it.

This may sound high-minded, but Yenimahalle is a system in conversation with the surrounding city. That conversation is sometimes confused, sometimes a bit misguided and not always clear, but the fact that it’s happening is what’s important.

I earlier called the Yenimahalle Teleferik as an “imperfect masterpiece,” and I stand by that assessment. The system juggles such a dizzying array of first-of-its-kind urban design moments, it’s no wonder some are only half-realized.

And who cares if it doesn’t succeed entirely?

When the first iPhone came out way back in 2007, it was hailed as a total game-changer. It was not, however, without faults. The software was buggy, the battery life poor and the app store still a year away.

Nevertheless, the iPhone totally upended how the public viewed what a cell phone could do and be. Apple essentially created the entire industry of mobile computing with the simple idea that a cell phone could be so much more than it originally was.

That’s what’s happening in Ankara.

The Yenimahalle Teleferik represents the moment when an industry said “maybe we need to rethink how a cable car fits into the urban form.” They didn’t get everything right—who ever really does?—but they had the foresight and the courage to address the question and try to get it right.

Yenimahalle lays the groundwork for future system design in ways that are completely original and compelling. Smart designers of the future will examine this system and stand on its shoulders — which is good for everyone.

And it is that inspirational and aspirational quality that, I’m certain, will be the Yenimahalle Teleferik’s legacy for decades to come.
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ANKARA SERIES

Read Part 1 – Intro

Read Part 2 – Explore

Read Part 3 – Photos

Read Part 4 – Station 1

Read Part 5 – Station 2

Read Part 6 – Station 3

Read Part 7 – Station 4



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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik
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03
Nov

2015

Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik (Part 7 — Station Four)

 

Yenimahalle Teleferik Ankara Cable Car

Street level of the Yenimahalle Telerik just outside Station Four. Image by Steven Dale.

You cannot ignore Station Four (Şentepe Station) of the Yenimahalle Teleferik (Ankara Cable Car). It’s dominant in a most unexpected way. Like every other station along the Yenimahalle Teleferik before it, Station Four points the way to the future of urban gondolas and cable cars while not exactly mastering it. Read more



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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik
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30
Oct

2015

Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik (Part 6 — Station Three)

Yenimahalle Teleferik Ankara Cable Car

Station 3 of the Yenimhalle Teleferik.

Station 3 (TRT Vericiler Station) of the Yenimahalle Teleferik (Ankara Cable Car) is probably the most controversial of all the stations along the line. The station feels and looks not unlike a maintenance garage. And there’s a reason for that — it is a maintenance garage.

Station 3 was the original end station of the first phase of the Yenimahalle Teleferik. If you recall from the original post in this series, this system was phased in over two separate loops of rope. Station 3 is also, therefore, the start of the second phase and loop.

Best practice dictates that maintenance and storage facilities for gondola vehicles should be located at the end of a loop in areas with plenty of space. Station 3’s location satisfies both those elements. But rather than treat Station 3 as an urban, pedestrian area that happens to include a workshop and parking garage, Station 3 is treated as a parking garage and workshop that happens to include a transit platform.

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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik
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27
Oct

2015

Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik (Part 5 — Station Two)

Yenimahalle Teleferik Ankara Cable Car

Google earth image of Yenimahalle Teleferik, Station Two.

Station Two (Yunus Emre Meydan Station) of the Yenimahalle Teleferik, as I stated in the last post, is by far the most innovative of the Ankara Cable Car’s stations. Taking up the entirety of an irregularly-shaped traffic island makes it unique beyond compare. There is simply no station that we know of that is configured in such a way.

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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik
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22
Oct

2015

Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik (Part 4 — Station One)

Yenimahalle Teleferik Ankara Cable Car

Looking into the mouth of the Yenimahalle Teleferik Station One. Image by Steven Dale.

When I first started this system profile earlier in the week, I’d originally intended to discuss the stations collectively. But once I sat down to do so and began reviewing my notes and photos, I realized that was a ridiculous idea.

Firstly, I had way too many photos of each station to fit within a single column. Secondly, I had way too much commentary on the various stations to fit within a single column. And thirdly, I realized such a structure would be disrespectful to what makes this system really shine. As I’ve stated previously, it’s the station design and configuration that makes this project important. To really appreciate the Yenimahalle Teleferik, you need to understand the stations. Hence the reason I’m going to dedicate a single column for each and every station before I wrap up with some final thoughts.

So let’s begin . . . .

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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik
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21
Oct

2015

Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik (Part 3 — Photos!)

Yenimhalle Teleferik Ankara Cable Car

Sign in metro station connecting Yenimahalle Teleferik to the metro line. Image by Steven Dale.

Before we move onto discussions about each individual station, you’ll find some favourite images taken during my tour of the Yenimhalle Teleferik / Ankara Cable Car.

Click ‘more’ to view the photos after the jump.

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Ankara Cable Car Yenimahalle Teleferik
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