The Gondola Project

For Gondola Project readers and La Paz-El Alto residents, the recent inauguration of the Blue Line (Spanish: Línea Azul) is probably still very fresh in mind.

While the excitement has barely subsided, it might be easy to forget that the Blue Line is just the first of three Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) systems that are scheduled to open this year in the world’s highest metropolis.

Based on online reports, the Orange Line (Spanish: Línea Naranja) and White Line (Spanish: Línea Blanca) are both planned for inauguration by October and December respectively.

The Orange Line will travel in an east-west alignment and will connect to Red Line’s eastern terminus (Central) and the White Line’s northern terminus (Villaroel). From Villaroel, the White Line will travel in a north-south configuration with future integrations to the Brown Line (Spanish: Línea Café) and the Sky Blue Line (Spanish: Línea Celeste).

At the start of the month, the Orange Line’s electromechanical components being manufactured in Doppelmayr’s Austrian headquarters were reportedly fully built with 85% of the parts already shipped to La Paz. For the civil works, 40% is already completed while 2 of the 4 stations are 80% finished. For the White Line, the system is now more than 60% complete as of last month with 100% of the electromechanical equipment already mounted.

At 2.6km and 2.8km respectively, the Orange Line and White Line can be considered “mid-sized” systems. Compared to the other existing urban gondolas in La Paz, the average length is ~3.7km. In terms of stations, both the upcoming systems should have fairly large catchment areas as they are built with 4 stations each — thereby putting it on par with the Green Line and Yellow Line which also have 4 stations per line.

While both these new CPT systems are impressive, one of the most exciting aspects of these 2017 projects relate to the network effects of connecting four urban cable lines together (Blue Line, Red Line, Orange Line and White Line).

Riders will be able to travel on a near seamless journey onboard 12.8km urban gondolas from the bustling markets in El Alto to the boroughs of Miraflores/San Jorge in La Paz in approximately 60 minutes.

All in all, before the end of 2017, more than 10km of new CPT lines will soar above La Paz-El Alto, making it one of, if not the busiest year of urban cable car construction in the City. The incredible pace of construction and the large volumes of passengers transported on Mi Teleférico demonstrates once again that ropeway technology is more than capable of functioning reliability and efficiently in an urban mass transit environment.

And when 2017 is in the books, the dizzying implementation speed of La Paz-El Alto’s transport plans will continue for at least 2 more years. By 2019, the full build out of the world’s largest urban gondola network is expected to reach more than 33km in length!

 

 

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La Paz-El Alto’s newest Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) system, the Blue Line (Línea Azul), opened for passenger service last Friday and has already surpassed initial projections during its maiden voyage. During the weekend, the urban cable car hit a peak day ridership of 41,000 persons and has directly boosted passenger levels on the Red Line (Línea Roja) by 15%.

At this rate, the Doppelmayr-built Blue Line may likely add 20,000 – 40,000 daily passengers to the entire Mi Teleférico network each day — thereby single-handedly increasing overall network ridership by up to 50% from current passenger numbers (existing: 80,000 – 100,000 daily riders).

A cursory analysis and comparison of La Paz to other rapid transit lines in North America indicates that only five other light rail systems (i.e. Calgary, Toronto, Guadalajara, Boston, Los Angeles) would have a higher daily ridership than Mi Teleférico.

Arguably, since Toronto’s “light rail system” is really more a “streetcar” network, this means that only four North American LRT systems see larger daily ridership figures. However, it is important to keep in mind that these light rail networks are 60-650% longer than Mi Teleférico and have up to 4.5x more stations.

From an average daily boardings per mile perspective, this is where the La Paz-El Alto’s system truly shines. Mi Teleférico on average transports ~13,000 – 15,000 passengers/mile. Compared to North American LRTs, La Paz would rank 2nd after Mexico’s Guadalajara Light Rail. And if La Paz was measured against all rapid transit systems in North America, Mi Teleférico would actually break the top ten list, ranking 9th just ahead of Santo Domingo’s metro line!
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Passenger Boardings Per Mile (North America and La Paz)

System	Country	Length (miles)	Year Opened	Stations	Lines	Avg Daily Boarding Per Mile
New York City Subway	USA	232	1904	468	24	39,055
Mexico City Metro	Mexico	141	1969	195	12	30,603
Montreal Metro	Canada	43	1966	68	4	29,390
Toronto Subway	Canada	42.4	1954	69	4	25,785
Monterrey Metro	Mexico	20	1991	31	2	24,984
Panama Metro	Panama	8.5	2014	13	1	21,176
PATH	USA	13.8	1908	13	5	18,167
Guadalajara Light Rail	Mexico	14.9	1989	29	2	17,790
Mi Teleférico	Bolivia	9.3	2014	16	4	13,000 - 15,000
Santo Domingo Metro	Dominican Republic	17	2009	30	2	10,461

Note: Guadalajara Light Rail added to Wikipedia’s “List of North American rapid transit systems by ridership” in table above to allow for comparison of all rapid transit and not just Metro systems.

 

Some readers will likely argue that these are unfair comparisons since the landscape and modal split for North American and South American cities are different. While this might be true to a certain degree, this brief analysis reinforces that urban cable transit is no longer a fringe technology that’s incapable of operating as a reliable mass transit system.

On the contrary, Mi Teleférico demonstrates that when properly implemented, urban gondolas can quickly enhance and complement existing public transit networks.

With this fantastic reception, manager of the state-owned ropeway system reiterated that the entire urban gondola network has achieved economic self-sufficiency — a goal rarely achieved by mass transit systems. Overall, as the city’s transport system modernizes, officials are diligently monitoring the system’s performance to ensure maximum reliability, safety and comfort.

 

 

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March 3, 2017 marks a very special day not only in the highlands of Bolivia but in the world of Cable Propelled Transit (CPT). Known on social media as the “Great Blue Leap” (Spanish: #ElGrandSaltoAzul), the 5-station Blue Line (Spanish: Línea Azul) was officially opened for passenger service. The CPT system, built by Doppelmayr, is the 4th urban cable car that is a part of Mi Teleferico’s world leading gondola network.

Depending upon how a public transit ropeway is defined, initial estimates suggest that the Blue Line may be one of the longest mass transit urban gondolas in the world. Comparatively speaking, this system slightly edges out its closest Latin American counterparts by ~100-200m (Mexicable – 4.8km and Mariche Metrocable -4.8km).

Unlike the previous Red, Yellow and Green Lines, the Blue Line operates entirely in El Alto (world’s highest metropolis) and is the first system to be fully equipped with free wifi and security cameras in all cabins. Estimates suggest that the aerial lift will transport 30,000 passengers daily and benefit upwards of half a million residents in 18 neighbourhoods!
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A minutos de cumplir un sueño… #ElGranSaltoAzul 💙 pic.twitter.com/pjXmn0gm92

— Mi Teleférico (@miteleferico) March 3, 2017

From a network perspective, the Blue Line effectively extends the Red Line’s reach deeper into El Alto. The 16 de Julio (Jach’a Qhathu) Station’s role is further strengthened as an interchange station. Already, the station’s ground floor is home to the Amauta Shopping Centre and a commercial area where passengers will walk through during a transfer.  At full build out, 16 de Julio will be one of two interchange stations where you can conveniently transfer onto three separate urban ropeways.

Travelling westbound from 16 de Julio station, passengers arrive at Plaza Libertad Station. At this location, a cultural center for El Alto was built to complement and enhance site usage. Between Plaza Libertad Station, Plaza La Paz Station and Universidad Pública de El Alto (UPEA) Station, the cable car is built entirely within the traffic median of 16 de Julio Avenue. In fact, both the Plaza Libertad and Plaza La Paz Stations are built in the middle of a traffic circle. This stretch of the cable car demonstrates how CPT systems can be fitted nimbly and strategically within a city’s existing built form. As more urban cable cars are built, expect many more systems in the future to utilize this design strategy.   —

#ElGranSaltoAzul de .@miteleferico conectará la ciudad de #ElAlto de extremo a extremo. ¡#JallallaElAlto! pic.twitter.com/Kq7VmKIEeo — Bolivia Sigue (@BoliviaSigue) March 3, 2017

At UPEA station, an estimate of 10,000 from the University’s 35,000+ student population are expected to fully take advantage of the gondola’s direct connection to the campus.

And finally, at the Blue Line’s western terminus is the Ex Rio Seco (Waña Jawtra) Station. An existing commercial area and an interprovincial bus stop are both located at this node, which undoubtedly enhance convenience and connectivity for passengers.

With the completion of the Blue Line, six more systems are left as part of the massive US$450 million Phase 2 investment plans. The next systems that are scheduled to open include the White and Orange Lines (Spanish: Línea Blanca and Línea Naranja) in late 2017. The White Line in early February 2017 was reportedly 60% complete.

As for the remaining cable cars, the Sky Blue Line (Spanish: Línea Celeste) and Purple Line (Spanish: Línea Morada) will open in 2018 while the Silver Line (Spanish: Línea Plateada) and Gold Line (Spanish: Línea Dorada) will open in 2019.

Overall, the Blue Line continues the mandate of the Bolivian government to modernize and improve its transport infrastructure. Just like the existing urban gondolas, the Blue Line is open for 17 hours each day and the fares are priced sensitively at US$0.40 (Bs 3) or US$0.30 (Bs 2) if a passenger is transferring from the Red Line.

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Last Friday marked another impressive milestone for the rapidly growing urban cable car network in La Paz, Bolivia.

With the help of a drone, a guide cable was strung across section 2 (between Plaza Villarroel station and Plaza Triangular station) of the White Line (Spanish: Linea Blanca).

This task was completed ahead of schedule in just 7 hours with the help of more than 150 persons. Over the next week, progressively thicker cables will be strung across the alignment until the final 50mm steel cable is installed/spliced on August 5.

The entire project is moving ahead steadily as the electromechanical equipment for 2 stations (Plaza Villarroel and Monumento Busch) is already 100% complete while Plaza Triangular station is 80% complete.

Overall, the White Line is expected to open its doors to passengers by mid-2017.
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This past week, President Evo Morales announced the development of another urban cable car on the Mi Teleferico. The Sky Blue Line (Spanish: Linea Celeste) will be the eighth gondola alignment in the city’s phase two plans, which effectively makes it the 11th line of the entire Doppelmayr-built cable car network.

Similar to the Purple Line, the Sky Blue Line will be built with higher specs than the initial the three initial cable lifts. Here are some confirmed stats:

• Length: 2.7km
• Stations: 4
• Speed: 6 m/s
• Capacity: 4,000 pphpd
• Towers: 27
• Cabins: 159
• Travel Time: 11.8 minutes

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While ridership numbers were not released, this line is expected to be one of the network’s busiest. And from a preliminary review, this will likely hold true since the Sky Blue system will intersect with two existing lines (Green and Yellow) and one future line (White).

Once built, the existing Libertador (Chuqui Apu) station — already the most travelled terminal with 5.2 million passengers per year — will enable passengers to transfer to three separate lines (Green, Yellow and Sky Blue).

Astute readers may notice that this week’s announcement calls for some modifications to the previously proposed phase 2 plans. In particular, there appears to be the following changes:

1. The previous Sky Blue Line is now known as the Golden Line (Spanish: Linea Dorado)
2. The new Sky Blue Line becomes a completely new system
3. The White Line (Spanish: Linea Blanca) no longer terminates at Libertador station, rather it will connect with the new Sky Blue Line’s San Jorge interchange station.

As part of the news release, the President also confirmed the development of the Silver Line (Spanish: Linea Plateada) and announced the construction of the Park of Cultures and Mother Earth (Spanish: Parque de las Culturas y la Madre Tierra).

In total, these investments are estimated to cost $110 million.

 

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