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15
Sep

2023

Weekly Roundup: Cable Car Coming to Grecian Castle Town

The addition of a cable car hopes to make the Grecian castle town of Monemvasia more accessible to visitors and locals alike. The gondola will allow the elderly and those with disabilities to access the upper town when they could not, or may have had greatly difficulty doing so, before, as it could previously only be reached by a set of steep and narrow stairs. Image credit to Rita Willaert, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, via Flickr.

Monemvasia, a castle town in Greece, is adding a cable car that aims to open by 2024. The new cable car was originally proposed in 2021, and the 6.8 million euros will be funded through Recovery and Resilience (RRF) funds. The goal is to make the town, which stands as Europe’s oldest inhabited castle town, completely accessible to all visitors, and the town is working through many different upgrades and projects to make this happen. The cable car will specifically aim to make the upper town accessible, which is currently only accessible by narrow stairs.
Winter Park Resort in Colorado is adding a new lift and other investments. Winter Park has invested $100 million in improvements for this upcoming season, including $30 million on mountain and base experiences. Some of those projects include adding a high-speed six-person chairlift, called the Wild Spur Express, to the Vasquez Ridge area. The lift will include a mid-point loading zone and is scheduled to open in late November or early December.
Red Pine Gondola in Utah replaces half the cabins for next winter season. The 55 new cabins are slightly heavier than the 60 old cabins and will require some adjustments to the towers and terminals to accommodate the added weight. The additional weight causes the cabins to hang at a 2 degree angle, which may create a slightly bumpy ride coming into the terminal. The lift has added water jugs under the cabin seats, which meet safety standards, to counterbalance the weight difference for half of the new cabins that were installed for the upcoming winter season. The addition of the counterbalance is simply for rider comfort and is not required for the safety of the lift operation.

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09
Jun

2023

Weekly Roundup: Scenic Gondola to Come to Southern India

The Nilgiris Hills of southern India, famous for their misty steppes and lush flora and fauna, could soon be home to a gondola system which would take locals and tourist alike on a sky trip across the idyllic scenery. Whatever form this system takes, it is destined to bring new economic opportunity to the region. Image credit to Yogiroxxx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A cable car has been proposed in Amsterdam to help connect the north and south halves of the city. It would depart from the Hemknoop metro station, and then turn left over the river to Softwareweg. Currently, it is expected to move 900 passengers a day, with a future capacity of 4,500 passengers a day once a bridge is constructed over the IJ River.
The Dursey cable car will reopen to the public today, after being closed for over a year. It serves as the primary means of transportation between the small island and the rest of Ireland and operates continuously from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM. It’s also open to tourists, adult tickets cost €10 a person, and half that for kids. See a related Weekly Roundup here.
From the towering heights of Mount Bohemia, colloquially known as Boho, comes news of a chairlift upgrade. The mountain’s current 3-seater chair lift is aging and often is only loaded with 2 skiers for safety reasons. They have contracted Skytrac, which readers may know is a subsidiary of Leitner-Poma. Once the upgrades are finished, it is expected that capacity will increase by 50%. Additionally, the mountain has raised the possibility of a chairlift on the backside of the mountain, in the “Haunted Valley”.
In the Nilgiris hills, on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India, a feasibility study is underway for a scenic cable car system. The system type is unclear, but could potentially be a monocable detachable gondola (MDG) or a pulsed gondola, with a design capacity of 340 passengers per hour. Planners expect the project to bring jobs and income to the local area, with employment opportunities for cab drivers, shopkeepers, and guides, as well as other commercial ventures.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council has approved the long-term transportation plan presented by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). The council had to approve the entire plan, although some members disapproved of the gondola in an effort to ensure the first two phases of the plan were implemented, which includes increased public bus transportation and tolling. Despite the council’s approval, local resistance to the project remains fierce, with many locals preferring a less ambitious plan such as expanding the bus system. The project is not out of the proverbial woods yet, as the proposed gondola plan could undergo more modifications before it is released later this year by UDOT. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

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26
May

2023

Weekly Roundup: Sightseeing Gondola or Year-Round Resort? Two Visions of the Future of the Canadian Cascades

The province of British Columbia must soon decide on which project will soon make its home among the peaks near Bridal Falls and Mt. Cheam: a world-class, sightseeing gondola or an all-season ski resort. Though both projects would bring a new wave of tourism to the region, each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Image credit to Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two competing development proposals on the mountains above Chilliwack, Canada, are awaiting approval from the province. One of the developments is to build a sightseeing gondola, the Cascade Skyline Gondola Project, and the other is an all-season mountain resort, Bridal Veil Mountain Resort. The resort project could be Canada’s first Indigenous-led resort with the participation of the Stó:lō Nation. However, the Chem First Nation supports the Cascade Skyline Gondola and opposed the Bridal Veil Mountain Resort due to the larger footprint of the development in comparison. Unfortunately, the two project require similar forested land above the Bridal Veil Falls to Mt Cheam’s peak. At this time, there is no clear understanding of which project will be selected and when.
The Red Pine Gondola’s faulty cabin doors will soon be a distant memory as 55 new cabins arrive at Park City Mountain in Utah. A total of 60 cabins will be retired and auctioned off to support multiple organizations. Of the 55 cabins, 29 will be installed before their summer operation commences, and the remaining cabins will be installed in September. The upgraded cabins are part of the resort’s capital improvements which originally included upgrading other lifts; however, permitting issues resulted in the projects to be delayed.
The Nandankanan Zoological Park will soon be inaugurating the Nandankanan Ropeway. The system was designed with a unique artistic vision incorporating local flora and fauna while blending into the natural landscape with cabin exteriors finished with a wood façade. The 628-meter system is a pulsed gondola that moves 400 people per hour in 12 six-person cabins.

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11
Nov

2022

Weekly Roundup: Base to Base Gondola opening!

Snowbird’s second tram cabin is almost ready after an installation accident during the summer. When installation began, one of the two cabins was dropped, requiring it to be replaced and causing a project delay. The new cabin has been installed, and final installation requirements are anticipated to be done this weekend. With both cabins now on the line, crews are working on getting the tram open by November 30. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

The Base to Base Gondola is expected to open November 22. The 2.4-mile system will ascend 3,105 feet to connect two ski areas, Alpine Meadows and Palisades Tahoe. This will be the first gondola to utilize fully automated cabin parking. This means that with the push of a button, it will take 20 minutes to store 96 cabins. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) released over 13,000 comments over the Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola. After UDOT announced the gondola to be the preferred alternative, there was a 45-day public comment period, which generated 13,443 comments. UDOT is currently reviewing the comments to finalize the project. UDOT still needs to find funding for the project, so there is a phased plan to mitigate traffic until funding is secured. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

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09
Sep

2022

Weekly Roundup: Doppelmayr has just released the new TRI-Line gondola

Doppelmayr TRI-Line Talstation, Photo Rendering by Doppelmayr

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) announced their preferred transit alternative is the gondola for Little Cottonwood Canyon. 3S gondolas, also known as tricable detachable gondola (TDG), are highly reliable because they can handle harsher weather conditions. A 3S has two track ropes with the sole purpose of stabilizing the cabins and one propulsion cable. It’s estimated the gondola will ease congestion on the canyon by 30%, but critics accurately say the system will primarily benefit Alta and Snowbird skiers. The largest user group causing congestion throughout the canyon are resort skiers and the gondola is only intended to operate during the wintertime. It will take up to three years to install the gondola, which will be the world’s longest, and in the meantime other temporary traffic measures will be used to reduce congestion. UDOT is taking public comments on the gondola proposal until October 17. See a related Weekly Roundup here.
Doppelmayr has just released the new TRI-Line gondola. The TRI-Line is an innovative combination of the 3S and D-Line model, the latest model of Doppelmayr’s monocable detachable gondola (MDG). The major benefits of the TRI-Line are compact stations similar to the D-Line and a high capacity of moving up to 8,000 people per hour per direction. We will have more details about this new technology soon, stay tuned.
London’s cable car is to be rebranded as IFS Cloud Cable Car in October. Transport for London (Tfl) has announced a two year sponsorship deal with the technology company, IFS. IFS is a fast growing global technology company that will be completely rebranding the cabins and stations. The cable car had approximately 1.5 million passengers in the year leading up to July 2022. See a related Weekly Roundup here.
The Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) development company donated the Dodger Stadium gondola project to Climate Resolve. The gondola project was proposed in 2018 by LA ART, led by the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The vision is to build a 3S gondola that will move people between Union Station and the Dodgers Stadium with two intermediate stations. Climate Resolve is an environmental nonprofit that focuses on combating the impacts of climate change. LA ART will continue to fund the entitlement phase of the project with Climate Resolve responsible for shepherding the project through the entitlement process, assembling the funding package, and managing the construction phase. See a related Weekly Roundup here. SCJ Alliance is part of this project.

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29
Jul

2022

Weekly Roundup: Dursey Island Cable Car to reopen in November

Dursey Island Cable Car, Photo on Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Dursey Island Cable Car in Ireland will reopen in November after replacing two support towers. The funitel system was originally shut down at the end of March, which cut off all access to the island. While the system’s shutdown was originally intended to be permanent, funds to replace it with a ferry system fell through. This, coupled with a lack of agreement with Rural Affairs, resulted in the decision to repair the funitel. A temporary ferry system instituted in June has been extended until the cable car reopens. Check out a related Weekly Roundup here.
Plans to open Malaysia’s largest indoor entertainment hub, Tropicana Windcity, include a cable car. This hub at Genting Highlands will be made up of three developments, Tropicana Grandhill, Tropicana Paradise, and Tropicana Avalon, with plans for restaurants, rides, an aquarium, and greenery in between. The article shows artist impressions of the park and a gondola to carry guests from end to end.
IKN Nusantara, Indonesia assesses the use of urban cableways for tourism and transportation. The city’s decision to include a cableway was driven by the topography of the area and desire for access to a panoramic view of the city. It was noted that the government is also planning a cable car as a part of the master plan and urban transportation system in the city.

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01
Jul

2022

Weekly Roundup: Colorado’s Steamboat Resort Prepares for the Wild Blue Gondola!

Going up the mountain — Steamboat Ski Resort Gondola (Photo by Jeffery Beal on Flickr)(CC BY-SA 2.0)

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) will receive a federal grant to help fund a transit study. The study is set to investigate a new corridor known as NEXTransit, which will connect Oakland’s neighborhoods to its universities and hospitals. The study will look into several transit options that will integrate into the existing bus and light rail systems. For the steep slope portion of the proposed corridor the study will evaluate the feasibility of a gondola or funicular. PRT estimated the study to cost $825,000 and was awarded $594,000 from the grant which will require PRT to find additional funding or modify the study’s scope.
The thousands of public comments received on the Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has pushed Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) schedule to present the final EIS. UDOT’s final EIS is scheduled to be released this summer announcing their preferred alternative. UDOT is still reviewing and responding to public comments which has extended the project schedule. While some residents are opposed to the gondola and want to protect the canyon, others are in favor and argue that the gondola will increase safety and capacity year-around while also improving air quality. See a related Weekly Roundup here.
Steamboat Resort prepares the site for the Wild Blue Gondola in Colorado. The project is broken into two parts. The first leg of the gondola will open for the 2022-2023 winter season, connecting Steamboat Square and Greenhorn Ranch. The five-minute ride will increase uphill capacity from 6,000 to 10,000 people per hour (pph). The second leg’s alignment is currently getting trees cleared with helicopters. When completed, the Wild Blue Gondola will span 3.16 miles in 13 minutes, making it the longest and fastest 10-person gondola in North America.

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The Gondola Project

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Weekly Roundup: Cable Car Coming to Grecian Castle Town

Weekly Roundup: Scenic Gondola to Come to Southern India

Weekly Roundup: Sightseeing Gondola or Year-Round Resort? Two Visions of the Future of the Canadian Cascades

Weekly Roundup: Base to Base Gondola opening!

Weekly Roundup: Doppelmayr has just released the new TRI-Line gondola

Weekly Roundup: Dursey Island Cable Car to reopen in November

Weekly Roundup: Colorado’s Steamboat Resort Prepares for the Wild Blue Gondola!

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