Posts Tagged: Colombia

14
Oct

2014

The Hybrid Monorail-Funicular-Cable Car?

Every so often we are confronted with wonderful and mysterious transportation devices (see Chinese Tunnel Bus). Today, we happen to come across the Sistema Monorail Con Funiculares (or the Monorail System With Funiculars) — a conceptual transit system designed by ECOLVIAS from Medellin, Colombia.

There’s not much information about this technology but it does make me wonder what type of advantages/disadvantages one might discover if you fuse monorail technology with cable cars. Perhaps it offers greater stability, capacity and/or speeds? Or maybe it’s as simple as being able to travel in style onboard teardrop-shaped cabins. Without any additional details it’s really anybody’s guess at this time.

But perhaps our engineer readers have a better idea and could provide us with your thoughts!



Big thanks goes out to Guenther for the link.



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01
Oct

2014

Bogota’s Cable Cars – Learning, but Not Duplicating

Post by Mauricio Miranda.

Bogota will try to learn from one of the most successful urban cable car stories by attempting to emulate Medellin’s achievements.

Residents in Colombia’s capital city still encounter shockingly long and uncomfortable commutes despite the extensiveness its world renowned TransMilenio BRT system.

TransMilenio BRT. Image by Flickr user mariordo59.

But if there has been something that we have advocated here at the Gondola Project, it is the belief that no technology is a cure all solution for all transport challenges — especially when a major urban center has nearly 8 million residents.

Bogota seems to be in the extremes of the spectrum in terms of urbanism and mobility — the city has probably been praised as much as it has been condemned. Former mayor Enrique Peñalosa and true urbanism enthusiast (the man who also advocated for TransMilenio) was able to retake sidewalks from parked cars and convert them into vibrant public spaces.

The pedestrian experience improved and so made way for the expansion of sidewalks and the construction of more than 300 km of bikeways in the whole city. It is such an important mobility feature in Bogota that every Sunday, major avenues are closed for bikes, roller bladders, and all non-motorized means to take the street and enjoy the city in a healthy and fun way.

Sunday Streets in Bogota. Image by Flickr user Saúl Ortega.

These changes came more than fifteen years ago. The population of Bogota then was near the six million mark; today there has been a 25% increase. Unfortunately since then no major transportation projects have been built. And if you ask anyone (driver or transit user) what their commute experience is, there is just one answer — sheer chaos.

This is a problem that is citywide and it affects every single citizen. However, lower income residents have an even tougher time trying to travel to and from amenities, especially because they live on the hillsides where much of the transit service is inaccessible or inconvenient.

The local government was determined to solve this particular problem and has decided to follow Medellin’s footsteps by introducing two cable car lines in these marginalized areas. This comes as result of the realization that given the large size of the city and its different topographical characteristics, an integrated system of different technologies must be put in place — BRT, HRT and of course Cable Propelled Transit (CPT).

Between the two ‘CableBogota’ (as it is currently is called) lines, the system will be 7.2 km in length, with 7 stations, 60 towers and have 38,000 square metres of public space. The first line is referred as the Ciudad Bolivar line, and the second is referred as San Cristobal. These lines are saving on average more than two hours daily on commuting to the riders affected.

Line Profile - Cable Aereo Ciudad Bolivar. Image from  Caracol.

Line Profile – Cable Aereo Ciudad Bolivar. Image from Caracol.

The travel time from the Portal Tunal to Juan Pablo II is 7 minutes; to Villa Gloria is 11 minutes; and El Paraiso is 15 minutes – having a total round trip time of 30 minutes. The line will have 24 towers along the four stations, and between the Juan Pablo II and Villa Gloria stations there will be a 130-degree angle turn. The system is expected to move 2,600 pphpd at peak hour.

The construction of the El Paraiso station is also meant to be a limiting landmark of urban growth, and so no more future informal settlements are considered to be in the limits of Bogota.

Route Alignment - Ciudad Bolivar. Image from Caracol.

Route Alignment – Cable Aéreo Ciudad Bolívar. Image from Caracol.

The San Cristobal 2.8 km line will start from the Portal 20 de Julio, another southern end of the TransMilenio network. It will go on to the intermediate station of La Victoria, and finishing up on the Altamira station. There will be 22 towers and 100 cabins that will serve the 2,700 pphpd that will use the system at peak hour.

Travel times are very encouraging as it only takes 8 minutes from the Portal 20 de Julio to the La Victoria station, and 3 more minutes to the Altamira station; having a total round trip time of just 22 minutes.

Route Alignment - San Cristobal. Image from Caracol.

Route Alignment – Cable Aéreo San Cristobal. Image from Caracol.

Just like in Medellin, the Bogota Cable Car lines will be connecting to its main transportation system, TransMilenio.

Metro Medellin has been very proactive in advising Bogota on how to take advantage of the opportunities for improving the urban fabric that having a system like this offers. The stations of both lines are meant to be either an entertainment or social hub for all citizens, having planned schools, infrastructure for social security, water features, pools, libraries, etc.

The public input has been fundamental on this project. Every public space that will be constructed comes from the proposals of organized neighborhoods committees on how they think the space that they will be using is best used by their communities.

The Ciudad Bolivar line is expected to be completed by November 2015, and the San Cristobal line will be open to the public on February 2016.

Every person in Bogota is hoping that these initiatives will one day put the city at the same level as Medellin in terms of transportation – or at least close to it. Medellin has completed exemplary work in many fields, but it has excelled particularly in urban transportation and social justice (mainly thanks to the MetroCable). Medellin has done so well that it was recently named as the best Latin American city to live in.

However, it is important we recognize that not all cities are the same. As such, decision-makers must understand that one cannot merely copy a plan, port it over and expect the same results. Nevertheless, Bogota seems to have the necessary ingredients for a successful CPT system: topographical variations, extreme automobile congestion, limited finances and a poorly integrated public transit network.

It will be very interesting to see how this transportation master plan improves mobility, and how much of an effect it will have on people’s perception of the city. Bogota lacks a sense of ownership and lacks cohesion in many ways that are unseen. However, an integrated and multi-modal transit network has been a game changer to many of these cities in similar conditions, and my guess is that it will do so once again.



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09
Aug

2013

Weekly Roundup: Work Continues on La Paz-El Alto Teleférico Metropolitano

Program coordinator, César Dockweiler, inspecting electromechanical components for the La Paz-El Alto Teleférico Metropolitano at Doppelmayr’s Wolfurt plant. Image from LaRazon.

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit:



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29
Nov

2012

Information Request: Cable Aéreo, Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia

The Cable Aéreo in Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia. Image via flickr user Carlos Chalarca.

Here’s one we’ve never seen before in our lives and have no idea what it is or who built it or when. We know it’s located in Jardín in the Antioquia Province of Colombia, but that’s about it.

At first glance it appears to be some kind of antique 3S technology, but it’s likely some kind of jig-back Aerial Tram.

Whatever it is, it’s different and we’d sincerely appreciate any help people can provide.

 



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11
Oct

2012

Reducing Violence by Transforming Neighborhoods: A Natural Experiment in Medellín, Colombia

The American Journal of Epidemiology recently published a report, Reducing violence by transforming neighborhoods: a natural experiment in Medellín, Colombia, which examines the effects of “neighbourhood level interventions”. In this research paper, the “intervention” studied was the implementation of the Metrocable Line K in 2004.

Medellin Metrocable Line K. Image by Steven Dale, CUP Projects.

The paper looks at 25 neighbourhoods that were serviced by the Metrocable and 23 similar neighbourhoods from around the city that were not effected by the Metrocable. Researchers conducted a survey of these neighbourhoods in 2008, and compared them to the responses from a 2003 city-wide household survey on violence and neighbourhoods.

A cursory look at the findings indicate that the intervention neighbourhoods (those which were effected by the Metrocable) experienced a 66% faster decline in homicide rates than in the control neighbourhoods. Yet, in actuality, violence and homicide rates in both cable and non-cable areas decreased dramatically.

It should also be noted that while the government was constructing the Metrocable, they were simultaneously making other improvements to the gondola neighbourhoods, including: “additional lighting for public spaces; new pedestrian bridges and street paths; ‘‘library parks’’; buildings for schools, recreational centers, and centers to promote microenterprises; more police patrols; and a family police station next to a gondola station.”

Overall the results are encouraging for Medellín. Crime is down and community relations have improved. While this study concludes that there is statistical proof that infrastructure improvements can help decrease violence, it also clearly states that other factors could have influenced the results.

Medellín was lucky to have had a major government infrastructure intervention happen just a year after PREVIVA, the city-wide survey on violence, was conducted. Even without a survey, it will be interesting to see if there are any actual or perceived effects from the 2011 gondola system in Rio de Janeiro, and the proposed system in La Paz.

If you would like to read the full study, it is available here.



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10
May

2012

Another CPT for Colombia – The Bogota Metrocable?

Metrocable Line J in Medellin. Sources suggest that Bogota will see its first CPT system within 1-4 years. Image by CUP Projects.

Not to be outdone by its compatriot, Medellin, news reports coming from Bogota, Colombia indicates that the country’s capital is now seeking to build a Metrocable system of its own.

The cable car is expected to operate in the districts of Ciudad Bolivar and San Cristobal – both of which are located southwest and southeast of the city. From a cursory analysis, it appears that Ciudad Bolivar suffers from poor transport connections and is one of the poorest regions in the city.

Preliminary plans show that the system will run 3.4km in length with a capacity of 2,400-3,200 pphpd.

The Bogota Metrocable is estimated to cost $125 billion pesos ( USD ~$70 million) and will run at speeds of 5 m/s. This is nothing incredibly special nor different from the existing systems such as Medellin but its great to learn that the technology continues to make headways. If anyone has any additional information on this system, we’d love to hear from about it!

 



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30
Apr

2012

Bucaramanga Cable Car

We just stumbled upon an incredibly high quality and awesome video animation of a CPT line in Bucaramanga, Colombia. While we don’t know the intricate details of the line, based on a cursory look, it appears that it is a 3 station system first proposed back in 2007. If anyone knows more about the history and ongoing development of the system we’ve love to hear about it. But in the meantime, check it out:



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