The Gondola Project

27
Jan

2023

Weekly Roundup: Table Mountain Cableway in South Africa Hosts a Very Special Guest

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The Table Mountain Cableway in Cape Town, South Africa, has been a popular way to reach the top of this natural wonder since 1929. This week, a very special guest has returned to the mountain 78 years after his historic first trip.
Photo credit: LizaLotter, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A cable car is planned to provide a connection to the Marseille-Marignane airport in France. After the feasibility study was completed, officials of the metropolis of Aix-Marseille voted to move the project forward. The system is estimated to cost 3 million euros and will move 3,600 daily users.
Once completed, the Wild Blue gondola at Steamboat Resort in Colorado will be the longest and fastest monocable detachable gondola (MDG) in the United States. The first section of the gondola has opened and the second section is anticipated to open in late 2023 to early 2024. The 3.16-mile gondola runs at 7 meters per second.
The first baby to ever travel on the Table Mountain Cableway returns for his 79^th birthday. Not only was David Bester the first baby to ride the cable car, but he also lived on the mountain for 11 months.
The Cannon Mountain aerial tramway in New Hampshire is close to retirement. The tram was installed in 1980, replacing the old 1938 system. The state has indicated the system only has a few years left until it needs to be replaced. Currently, public officials are working on various ways to fund the new system.

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13
Jan

2023

Weekly Roundup: Five Cable Car Systems Across 3 Continents Break News

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Bridge “Pont d’Aquitaine” on the river Garonne between the north of Bordeaux and Lormont, France. A cable car system is planned for the area, though exact route is still unknown.
Photo credit: derivative work: Sam (talk)Pont_aquitaine_A10_Bordeaux_Lormont.jpg: Olivier MOUGEL, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The city of Bordeaux in southern France plans to install a cable car as part of the public transit system. The system will connect the suburb of Lormont on the east bank of the river to Bacalan on the west bank. The exact route is still unknown, but alternatives can be seen in this article. The system budget is between €53m to €73m depending on the ultimate alignment. The system is anticipated to improve mobility for underserviced areas. The French cities of Brest and Toulouse have already integrated cable cars into their transit networks, and Grenoble is also planning a cable car for the suburbs of Paris.

Court favors Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (ART) over the opposition. The opposition felt the project did not go through the proper channels when the project was advanced without competitive bidding. The project was presented as an unsolicited proposal to Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation with the understanding that the project would be privately funded and would reimburse Metro’s staffing costs. See a related Weekly Roundup here. SCJ Alliance is part of this project.

The Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola project continues to hear from supporters and opponents. Little Cottonwood Canyon is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Utah, and its close proximity to the Salt Lake Airport has increased the number of visitors to Alta Ski Resort. Safety risks due to avalanches and icy road conditions are increased with high traffic volumes. Several agencies have studied the alternatives and concluded that the gondola was the best option. An educational website, Gondola Works, highlights the benefits of the project. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

Juneau approved a deal with Goldbelt Inc. to invest in their gondola project. Goldbelt Inc. will invest $10 million towards the installation and construction of the pulse gondola purchased from Austria by the City and Borough of Juneau. In return, Goldbelt will receive between 10-25% of the gondola’s anticipated summer revenue over the next 25 years, or longer, until the corporation is paid back a minimum of $20 million. The system is expected to open in the spring of 2027. See a related Weekly Roundup here. SCJ Alliance is part of this project.

The Skyline Gondola in New Zealand is getting revamped. The current 4-person gondola system will be replaced with a 10-person gondola. The project is broken into three phases, with the anticipation of the new gondola opening in December of this year. This project will require the entire existing system to be removed, including the stations and towers.

Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

06
Jan

2023

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Historic Greek town looking for a gondola

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Monemvasia Greece Peloponnese
Photo Credit: JustinW, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Snowbasin Resort in Utah has announced a new six-person high-speed lift will be installed prior to the 2023/24 winter season. The chairlift is called the DeMoisy Express and will be the resort’s 13^th lift. The lift will be manufactured and installed by Leitner POMA.
The historic castle-town of Monemvasia in Greece is looking to construct a gondola to the upper quarters. The budgeted €6.8 million ($7.2 million USD) gondola is being included in the Culture Ministry’s program with the European Recovery and Resiliency Fund. The cable car will provide accessibility for all to the unique historic and archaeological area.
The Denver International Airport has requested concepts on alternative ways to move passengers after their underground train broke down. The train’s failure left people stranded, highlighting the need for an alternative or easy backup option. Among the submissions there was the pitch for an underground corridor with moving walkways, small on-demand pods, and a gondola. Both major manufacturers, Doppelmayr and Leitner-Poma, proposed some form of gondola-related system. To learn about the different forms of Cable Propelled Transit check out Learn the Basics.
A gondola is included as part of a major prison site revamp at Mount Crawford on Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula. The 1920s prison could be granteda fast-tracked consenting process for substantial development. The $350 million project includes 650 to 700 houses and a cable car. As proposed, the system would link the housing site to the waterfront Shelly Bay Taikuru housing development [RM1] .
The Cheam First Nation is purchasing land that is planned for the proposed gondola up to Bridal Falls in British Columbia, Canada. Cheam First Nation is purchasing the Bridal Falls Gold Club which would be the location for the proposed lower terminal. The gondola project is expected to be approved in the first quarter of 2023 due to the support of local governments and Indigenous groups. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

23
Dec

2022

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Second largest ski resort in the country is open!

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Alpine Meadows – Entrance to The Chute that Seldoms Slide
Photo Credit: Tfcallahan1 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Penang Cable Car, in Penang Hill, has acquired a designer. Hartasuma won the design, finance, operate, and transfer (DBOT) project and will own the concession for the site for the next 30 years. They are partnering with Doppelmayr for the project. The system will have 43 cabins taking the 10 minute trip to the upper station for an hourly capacity of 1,000 passengers.
Palisades-Tahoe system in California opens December 14. The $65 million monocable detachable system (MDG) connects the Alpine Lodge and The Village at Palisades Tahoe. The 2.4-mile alignment is a 16-minute ride which goes over KT-22. The system has 98 cabins and operates at 11 miles per hour. The MDG connects two resorts and creates a 6,000-acre skiing area, making it the second largest ski resort in the country.
Bayraklı Cable Car will connect to the İzmir, Turkey city hospital. The planned cable car will have four stations, a length of 2.43 kilometers, and an elevation change of 171 meters. The survey report shows the cable car traveling from the coastal park of the city and then up to the hospital. The tower locations are yet to be determined.

Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

16
Dec

2022

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: NEW BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT TRAM OPERATIONS

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Teton Village clock tower and tram station
Photo Credit: CosmicPenguin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pioneer Express Lift, at Winter Park Resort, Colorado, is being upgraded to serve new terrain. The lift will be replaced with a Leitner Poma detachable lift which will upgrade the capacity from 1,970 to 2,800 people per hour. The new lift will include a mid-station loading zone so that riders can take the 5-minute ride up and skip the easy runs at the bottom of the mountain.
Take a behind the scenes look at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s Aerial Tram. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort recently released a video showing a behind the scenes look at what it takes to operate their Aerial Tramway, Big Red. The video follows an operator up the mountain in the crow’s nest of the Aerial Tramway as he checks out the equipment and does maintenance. Big Red was opened in 2008 and travels 4.85 miles up the mountain in about 9 minutes.
A gondola to cross U.S. – Canada border revisited. The 1,219-meter-long system, known as the Freedom Gondola, was originally proposed in 2000 to move 4,000 pph (people per hour) at $72 million USD across the Detroit River. While the project has been dead for a while, a recent concept study was completed in 2021 by SCJ Alliance and revisits the idea. The concept study outlines the benefits of adding a gondola connection in addition to the new bridge, set to open 2024, and recommends that a tricable detachable gondola (TDG) be chosen to span the river at the proper clearance. SCJ Alliance is a part of this project.

Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

09
Dec

2022

Weekly Roundup: Pokémon and the 2029 Olympics Make Cable Car News

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View from a high point in Kaski, Nepal. The city is looking at getting its second cable car system.
Photo credit: HelloNepalWiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Nepali city of Kaski is looking into another cable car. The 6.5-kilometer monocable detachable gondola (MDG) is planned to be in Sikles of Madi rural municipality with three stations. The MDG will have a capacity of 6,000 people per day. The project is expected to be completed within two years now that the pre-construction phase is complete. The estimated project cost is Rs 6.9 billion (84 million USD).

The London Pokémon World Championship Transport’s campaign received The Drum Awards for Out of Home. The marketing award celebrates the campaign, people and companies driving innovation, creativity, and excellence around the world. During the championship the cable car completed 61,000 passenger journeys. Each of the cabins was transformed into one of 18 different Pokémon types.

The Dodger gondola could be ready for the 2029 Olympics. Metro released the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in October for public comment. The EIR is anticipated to be approved in 2023 clearing the way for the construction of the cable car. The project is estimated to cost at a minimum $150 million and take about two years to build. See a previous Weekly Roundup here. SCJ Alliance is a part of this project.

Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

02
Dec

2022

Weekly Roundup: Gondola Plans Move Forward in Alaska, Wales, and Tanzania

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Eaglecrest Ski Area near Juneau, Alaska
Photo credit: David McMaster (User:BlindGoofy), CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Eaglecrest Ski Area in Alaska has secured funding for the gondola with Goldbelt, Inc. Goldbelt will bring $10 million to the project with a return on investment of 10-25% of gross revenue until $20 million is reached. The current projections anticipate 75,000 visitors in the first year. This would be approximately 750 visitors every day during the summer months. Goldbelt’s president anticipates tickets for the gondola to be around $100. See a related Weekly Roundup here.

A new outdoor leisure destination is being proposed in Swansea, Wales. The Skyline Enterprises project includes a cable car and chair lift, luge runs, a sky swing, walking trails, zipline, and food and beverage offerings. The project is currently undergoing investigative work that is anticipated to be ready in the next three weeks.

Tanzanian tourism authorities have announced plans for a cable car on Mount Kilimanjaro are nearing completion. The system would be primarily used by tourists. Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain sitting 5,895 meters above sea level.

Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

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