Posts Tagged: Switzerland

16
Nov

2015

Are Gondolas and Cable Cars Safe?

Perhaps the most common question we’re asked about Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit is the safety question. Namely, are they safe?

And while anecdotally we’ve always known them to be a remarkably safe technology, gathering clear statistical proof has been very difficult. Most countries don’t have readily available access to numbers on this and those that do make the mistake of combining ski hill chairlifts and gondolas within the same statistical category despite the two having fundamental differences in their safety statistics.

Nevertheless, the Switzerland’s Office fédéral de la statistique OFS recently put out some new statistics that help shed some light on the safety issue. While by no means definitive, we’ve compiled some of the important numbers in the tables below and our preliminary investigations suggest Cable Propelled Transit technologies such as Funiculars, Gondolas and Aerial Trams are amongst the safest public transit technologies around.

Take a look:

Compiled by CUP; Based Upon Numbers Gathered By Office fédéral de la statistique OFS.

You’ll note that during 2008 and 2009 Funiculars and Gondolas/Aerial Tram technologies consistently experienced the fewest number of accidents, injuries and deaths per 1,000 passengers. Rail-based technologies consistently experienced the most.

These numbers are important for a couple of reasons:

  • Switzerland has the largest number of cable transit systems in the world with a well-used and highly-developed multi-modal transit network across the country. If cable is to be compared to other travel modes, this is the place to make the comparisons.
  • These numbers necessarily did not include small, private gondola systems nor ski hill chairlift systems. This lack of inclusion makes the comparisons far more apt.

Notwithstanding the above, these numbers do come with a few caveats:

  • It would have been preferred to see numbers across a wider time period. Unfortunately the data series used did not include accidents, injuries and deaths for Tram, Trolleybus and Autobus technologies prior to 2008.
  • Owing to Switzerland’s almost complete lack of Subway/Metro technology, no statistics were available for those technologies.
  • While complete accident, injury and death statistics were available for 2010, passenger volumes were not available.
  • An additional comparison between modes by Passenger Kilometers Travelled would’ve been preferred as the distance travelled by cable is likely to be shorter than the distance travelled by the other modes. Such figures, however, were not present in the datasets for Gondola systems. Instead, gondola values were given in Hours of Operation.
  • All information was given in French. And while as Canadians we have a base understanding of the language, there is clear potential for error. Anyone with a greater grasp of the French language is invited to double-check our work.

Having said that, this is still a step in the right direction and more than a little bit eye-opening.

As always, additional information, corrections or amendments can be posted in the comments and we’ll be sure to correct any errors or omissions.



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04
Nov

2013

Dallenwil-Wiesenberg Cable Car

Dallenwil Cable CAr.

An historic photograph of the Dallenwil-Wiesenberg Cable Car. Image via Dallenwil.ch

We often make the point around these parts that cable car infrastructure and architecture are two completely different things. Sure, the architecture is at least partly limited by the space requirements of the cable car infrastructure, but that’s about the extent of it.

I was reminded of that when I recently stumbled across the Dallenwil-Wiesenberg Cable Car in the Engleberg region of Switzerland. The system, which dates from 1934, is nothing more than an incredibly modest Aerial Tram. An old Aerial Tram, carrying only 24 pphpd along its 2,300 meters of length.

If you look closely at the image above, you’ll note the almost vernacular design of the carriage (to the extreme left) which reminds one of those classic Swiss cable cars we wrote about a while back. This is a system that oozes history with a base terminal that continues the tradition. It’s charming, old, and perfectly in keeping with the surrounding urban fabric.

The Dallenwil Cable Car, today. Image via Wiesenbergbahn.ch.

It’s easy to disregard cable car technology as “too futuristic” or not in sync with street level urbanism. But that’s misguided.

The Dallenwil-Wiesenberg Cable Car demonstrates that even what appears to be a modest old Swiss farmhouse can be used as a cable car station. We should consider its lessons when we look to integrate other systems into our future transit networks.



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17
Dec

2012

How to Deliver A Rolls Royce 2500m up a mountain

Throughout the years, we seen cable systems transport a lot of things — from cattle, to trucks, to noisy passengers.

And today, we can officially add to this very special list a Rolls Royce Phantom.

Image from http://www.auto-news.de/.

Image from http://www.auto-news.de/.

And in case you’re wondering how they did it, you can view a video of the whole shebang by clicking on this link. Enjoy!



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30
Oct

2012

Zingel Seilbahn: The water ballast tram

Preparing for take off!

The Obermatt – Unter Zingel Seilbahn in Switzerland is a cool old aerial tram that is powered, well, by gravity. Built in 1923 by Remigi Niederberger, the system still functions today. It is one of the last remaining water ballast tram systems.

The ropeway consists of two open-air “cabins” that have a spot to sit and a tank for water, cleverly built into the back of the seat. To hoist a person up from the bottom station, the tank at the top is filled with water and the weight of this water ballast is enough to counter balance the lower cabin (up to 100 kg) and run it up the mountain.

The system is simple, cheap, and surprisingly fast. (In fact the seilbahn can reach 45 km/h, which is the speed of any present day aerial tram.) There is no motor or no modern communication system. The operator at the top slows the cabin with a manually operated drum brake.

This video below beautifully illustrates how the Zingel Seilbahn works. [link]



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29
Jun

2012

Weekly Roundup: Commonwealth, Cable Cars, & the Cabrio Convertible

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

The Cabrio is the world's first open-air, double-decker cable car. Now you can ride up to the Stanserhorn on a sun deck.

  • The Cabrio, Switzerland’s newest cable car, is the world’s first double-decker, open-air cable car. We’ve mentioned this system before (here and here and here) and I’m sure we will again in the very, very near future.
  • Also, opening on the same day, the Emirates Air Line is now up and running. At the launch, London’s Mayor said: ‘Get on this cable car immediately. It’s beautiful, worth every penny and a stunning piece of engineering.’
  • The private-sector sightseeing Sea to Sky Gondola project has been approved. The system will pass across the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park in British Columbia and could open as early as July 2013.
  • 39 tourists were trapped in cable cars for 40 minutes in Xiamen, China most likely due to a rainstorm-triggered power failure.
  • Approval for a cable car to the summit of Mt Wellington in the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is gaining traction among city council. The head campaigner for the project, Adrian Bold, has been actively pursuing the project for years. He even started a facebook campaign.
  • A Drakensberg Cable Car could soon be part of KwaZulu-Natal’s uKhahlamba Drakensberg World Heritage Park, as a detailed feasibility study for the project will be underway shortly. Initial reports indicate the that the potential 3 km, 3-station system will include a summit station in Lesotho — 3x higher than the one on Table Mountain, also in South Africa.


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24
Feb

2012

Weekly Roundup – Capitol Hill Urban Gondola Proposal

Route visualization of a 1.4 mile (2.2km) urban gondola proposal in Seattle, USA. Image by Via Architecture.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit.

  • An extremely interesting and well-thought out urban gondola proposal has emerged from Seattle, Washington on citytank.org. It looks to connect several popular destinations to the city’s waterfront.
  • Montreal Gazette reports that the city is looking to replicate Vancouver’s transit management strategy (i.e. Translink). However, the article points out that Translink may not be the panacea it’s thought to be. A Vancouver-area mayor remarked that he was not fond of the agency’s decision to study the Burnaby Mountain gondola connection.
  • Times of India reveals their brief list of the best places to enjoy an aerial cable car ride.
  • Swiss town of Tenna showcases their solar powered ski lift (surface lift). On sunny days, the solar panels produced 2x the amount of electricity required to operate the ride!


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27
Jan

2012

Weekly Roundup

Just some dude climbing on a cable 3491m long. No biggie. Grimselwelt Mountains, Switzerland. Image from Dailymail.co.uk.

It’s been a busy week here at the Gondola Project. So let’s take a quick look at some of the highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit.

 



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