The Gondola Project

• Wyler Aerial Tramway will soon be up and running again in El Paso, TX. TPWD is partnering with Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority to get the tramway back into commission. The system originally ran as a popular attraction for tourists, ferrying visitors to the top of Ranger Peak to enjoy the spanning views. The tramway operated as a Texas State Park for 17 years, but was suddenly shut down due to safety concerns. Phase One of the park’s refurbishment is estimated to take two years to complete and includes rebuilding the roadway around the tramway park. Phase Two of the park’s revamping would include another tramway for passengers in addition to the existing system. 
• A cable car is coming to Dubai Mountain Peak in Hatta, United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is building a gondola system that will pass over the Hatta Dam Lake and the Upper Dam Lake before reaching the summit of Um Al Nesoor, the highest natural summit in Dubai. The system will be 5.4 kilometers long and was shown off alongside a new hydroelectric power plant.
• An exciting proposal – cable cars to be used in an adapted system to transport Italian apples. The system would be the first of its kind anywhere in the world and would transport Melinda apples from its packhouse up 1,300 meters to a storage facility in a close-by mountain. The system would reduce the company’s emissions significantly by saving around 6,000 truck journeys. The system will travel at 5 meters per second and have a capacity of 460 containers (150 tons of apples) per hour. More than €4 million will be paid for by the government.  

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• Longest Monocable Detachable Gondola is under construction in Dominica. At a length of 4.1 miles, the monocable detachable gondola (MDG) will set a new Guinness World Record for the longest system of its kind. The system will travel from Roseau Valley to the world’s second largest boiling lake. See a related weekly roundup here.
• Breckenridge Ski Resort opens for the season, bringing along with it a brand-new Five SuperChair. The new chairlift opens up access to about 50 acres of terrain in combination with the existing Colorado SuperChair. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony and free waffles offered at the opening. Nearby Vail Mountain is also opening for its 61^st season.
• The Roosevelt Island Tram in New York investigates swaying incidents. The aerial tramway has been noted to have swinging episodes that occur when the system goes into a controlled safety stop. Investigators say it may be a Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connection issue between the cabin and station. Commuters are worried about the system going out of service temporarily, as it would significantly increase local commute times.
• Prague’s Petřín Funicular to be revamped by 2026. The funicular remodel will include folding seats, glass ceilings for passengers to enjoy the city view, and minimized operational space. The new design will also give passengers an unobstructed view of Prague Castle and feature cabins that ‘wink’ as they pass each other on the lines. Prague Public Transport Company (DPP) has released a video to give people a feel for how the new funicular will look.
• Park City, Utah, explores new transportation solutions, including gondolas. Park City Council has narrowed down its potential transportation solutions to three high-priority topics – an aerial gondola connecting major areas being one of them. The other two include a high-capacity shuttle connecting Salt Lake City International Airport to the city and a tunnel system. 

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• Burnaby Mountain Gondola asks for more public engagement after releasing a new flyover video. The Burnaby Mountain Gondola will connect SFU to the SkyTrain station. Translink recently released a 360 degree simulated flyover to demonstrate what a ride from the gondola would be like; they are providing information for the public to learn about the system while also asking for public feedback. See a related Weekly Roundup here. SCJ Alliance, the parent company of the Gondola Project has been retained to provide gondola expertise for this project.
• Park City Mountain Gondola gets new wraps, with ‘The Gondola Gallery by Epic’ celebrating diversity. Epic has launched a film and art series to celebrate the backgrounds of skiers and snowboarders. The art exhibit includes the release of art-wrapped cabins and films going into each art piece’s background at both Park City Mountain and Stowe Mountain Resort. The next exhibit will be released at Whistler Blackcomb next year.
• Singapore Cable Car cabins get makeover for the holiday season and to celebrate 50^th anniversary. The 67 cabins have been decorated with Pokémon-themed decorations, along with wreaths and mistletoe to go around on the Mount Faber line.
• Cable car proposed to create access to the Mata Chintpurni Temple in Himachal, India. The system would travel 1.1 kilometers and would have a capacity of 700 passengers per hour per direction. The cable car would create another access besides the single-lane roadway that currently leads up to the temple. The proposed ropeway should help with congestion to the temple during high traffic and events. The proposed system is estimated to cost RS 76.50 crore ($9.2 million USD).

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• Simcoe Street Rapid Transit explores the possibility of gondolas for Simcoe Street in Oshawa. The municipality is also exploring light rail and bus options alongside a gondola or suspended monorail. The gondola solution would have 16 stops with 25-passenger cabins which could provide a capacity of 1,300-1,600 passengers per hour per direction; it is estimated to cost between $600 million and $1 billion. The monorail would have 17 stops, 200 passenger vehicles,  and by 2051 the system could carry 1,100 – 1,300 passengers per hour per direction; the system would cost $7 – $8 billion.
• Vietnam is leading cable car installations across the country. Cable cars are a fitting solution for Vietnam’s unique terrain, allowing for riders to hop across mountains, jungles, and islands. Vietnam has installed 26 cable car lines over the last couple of decades and is home to 4 of the longest cable cars in the world. Sun World has been a large contributor, with its six systems taking home 9 different Guinness World Records, including longest 3S, tallest cable car tower, and largest cable car cabin. Cable cars create cheaper and less intrusive transportation alternatives to various places around the country, which allow tourists easier access to places of note.
• Harborplace development may include a gondola alongside its other upgrades. The new gondola concept was included in renderings of the MCB Estates redevelopment release; the new renderings show two towers, one by Harbor East and the other north of Federal Hill Park. MCB commented that they are thinking about the future of Baltimore and how a gondola could make a good attraction and connector.
• Work has begun on the longest cable car in Uttarakhand, India. The 5.5-kilometer long system will connect Dehradun to Mussoorie in a 15 minute ride, aiming to cut down the commute time and reduce traffic congestion in the area. The system will have 10-passenger cabins and a capacity of 1,300 passengers per hour per direction. POMA SAS France and SRM Engineering LLP have begun their work and plan to open in September 2026.
• The Sterling Winery Gondola has reopens following the 2020 Glass Fire and refurbishment. The monocable detachable system (MDG) is now once again open to the public. The cabins provide 360-degree panoramic views of the valley on the journey up to the reopened hilltop winery. The new system replaced the old 1973 system with 8-passenger cabins and a new alignment to bring guests up the hill. SCJ Alliance, the parent company of the Gondola Project, had been retained to provide gondola expertise for this project. See a related weekly roundup here.

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• Portland Aerial Tramway to perform annual evacuation exercises. The evacuation exercise will be led by Portland Fire & Rescue Technical Rescue Team, where Doppelmayr employees will be lowered to the top floor of the OHSU Casey Eye Institute’s parking garage. All tram operating staff will be participating to allow crews to practice an aerial rescue in the situation where a cabin may be stopped for an extended period. The tramway will be stopped during the training exercise and will resume use afterwards.
• The longest monocable detachable gondola in the world will be constructed in Roseau, Dominica. The new monocable detachable gondola (MDG) will connect the capital city to the world’s second largest boiling lake with a 20-minute gondola ride. Doppelmayr and ABL Holdings are working together to bring the idea to reality. Outdoor Engineers’ feasibility report shows that the project could be completed within 2 years. The study also revealed that the project would, short-term, increase employment opportunities during the construction phase and, long-term, increase tourism for the area.
• Cannon Mountain aerial tramway to be upgraded at New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch State Park. The aerial tram‘s route will not change, but the lift will be upgraded with new, modernized cabins. The system takes an 8 minute ride up to Canon’s 4,090-foot summit. The project bid will be advertised at the end of October, and the bid process is expected to be complete by late spring of 2024. The project was originally estimated to cost $25 million to replace the system; however, due to rigorous maintenance on the lift, some of the parts of the existing lift can be reused, dropping the estimated cost down to $18 million. 

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• Cable car in Lipova, Romania put on hold due to zoning appeals. The cable car is planned to be 1,700 meters long and would connect Brno Exhibition Centre to Bohunice campus and hospital. The system will have a capacity of 2,000 passengers per hour and is estimated to cost about CZK 950 million ($41 Million USD). The project kicked off in 2020 by Brno Transport Company (DPMB) and is currently facing a delay due to appeals against the joint construction and zoning management from homeowners living along the edge of where the cable car would run.
• World’s longest Cable Car project in progress in Nepal for an estimated $500 million. K&R Rail Engineering Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project. The 84.32-kilometer system is expected to have a total of 20 stations, with nine of those stations being for mandatory loading and unloading, eight for optional loading and unloading, and another three identified as technical stations. The purpose of the cable car is to improve the travel for both tourists and devotees up to Muktinath Temple, which sits at an altitude of 3,700 meters.
• Kartepe Cable Car in Turkey continues construction. The cable car is a 4,695-meter long monocable detachable gondola (MDG) system with a capacity of 500 people per hour. The 10-passenger cabins will take 14 minutes to travel to the upper station.  The system is within a 200 thousand square meter area that is being developed with picnic zones, caravan camping, a nature school, and other attractions. Amongst these will be a restaurant, which is currently about 40% complete.
• Silver Star Mountain Resort doubles Summit Express gondola capacity in Canada. The resort will be adding 21 more 8-passenger cabins to the system to increase the capacity from 1,200 to 2,400 passengers per hour. Along with increases in the gondola capacity, Silver Star will also install new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) gates which will scan tickets without the rider needing to take the ticket out of their pocket.

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• Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico plans for upgraded lifts for 2023/2024 season. Lift 4 will be upgraded from a fixed-grip lift to a Leitner-Poma high-speed detachable quad; concrete pours have been completed for this lift, and the next step will be installing lift towers. Pioneers lift will also be upgraded and eventually replaced by a fixed-grip triple chairlift; additional grading will take place for the ski runs. The old Pioneer chairs were sold to help give kids scholarships for the mountain.
• Santo Domingo launches the Integrated Transportation System, which includes an extension of the existing cable car; the government is investing $3.2 billion to improve mass transportation in the city. The plan is to add Cable Car Line 3 which will lead to Santo Domingo Oeste. The improvement plan will also add a new tram and modern train system and three new urban bus terminals, alongside developing urban interchanges.
• While Whistler Blackcomb and Hunter Mountain upgrade lifts, Park City Mountain adds a brand-new gondola. Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia increases its capacity by replacing its four-person high-speed lift with a new six-person high-speed lift. Hunter Mountain in New York is also replacing their four-person high-speed lift with a similar speed, higher capacity system and will also be relocating their Broadway lift to increase capacity to learning terrain. Park City Mountain in Utah is replacing the Sunrise lift with a 10-person gondola for 2025 which will increase access to the mountain.

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