Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by drives within the object being moved on cableways. The use of pulleys and balancing of loads moving up and down are common elements of cable transport. They are often used in mountainous areas where cable haulage can overcome large differences in elevation.
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. Table Mountain National Park is the most visited national park in South Africa, attracting 4.2 million people every year for various activities. The mountain has 8,200 plant species, of which around 80% are fynbos, meaning fine bush. It forms part of the Table Mountain National Park, and part of the lands formerly ranged by Khoe-speaking clans, such as the !Uriǁʼaes. It is home to a large array of mostly endemic fauna and flora. Its top elevates about 1.000 m above the surrounding city, making the popular hike upwards on a large variety of different, often steep and rocky pathways a serious mountain tour which requires fitness, preparation and hiking equipment.
An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip of an aerial tramway cabin is fixed onto the propulsion rope and cannot be decoupled from it during operations. In comparison to gondola lifts, aerial tramways generally provide lower line capacities and longer wait times.
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal, which is typically connected to an engine or electric motor. It is often considered a continuous system since it features a haul rope which continuously moves and circulates around two terminal stations. In contrast, an aerial tramway operates solely with fixed grips and simply shuttles back and forth between two end terminals.
Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks, and material handling systems. As of 2023, the group had produced over 15,400 installations in 96 countries. Their annual revenue in 2022/2023 was 946 million euros. The Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group was formed in 2002 when Doppelmayr of Wolfurt, Austria merged with Garaventa AG of Switzerland to form the world's largest ropeway manufacturer.
An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which cabins, cars, gondolas, or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables. Aerial lift systems are frequently employed in a mountainous territory where roads are relatively difficult to build and use, and have seen extensive use in mining. Aerial lift systems are relatively easy to move and have been used to cross rivers and ravines. In more recent times, the cost-effectiveness and flexibility of aerial lifts have seen an increase of gondola lift being integrated into urban public transport systems.
The Lauterbrunnen–Mürren Mountain Railway is a hybrid transport system in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, which connects the villages of Lauterbrunnen and Mürren. The system consists of a connected aerial cableway, also known as the Grütschalpbahn, and an adhesion worked mountain railway. The cableway replaced a funicular, on the same route, in 2010.
Ngong Ping 360 is a bicable gondola lift on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Intended to improve tourism to the area, the aerial lift was previously known as Tung Chung Cable Car Project before acquiring the Ngong Ping 360 brand in April 2005. It consists of the Ngong Ping Cable Car, formerly known as the Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail, and the Ngong Ping Village, a retail and entertainment centre adjacent to the cable car's upper station. Ngong Ping 360 connects Tung Chung, on the north coast of Lantau and itself linked to central Hong Kong by the Tung Chung line, with the Ngong Ping area in the hills above. This is home to the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha, both already significant tourist attractions in their own right. Before Ngong Ping 360's opening, the only access was via a mountain road and bus service.
A material ropeway, ropeway conveyor is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.
Bleichert, short for Adolf Bleichert & Co., was a German engineering firm founded in 1874 by Adolf Bleichert. The company dominated the aerial wire ropeway industry during the first half of the 20th century, and its portfolio included cranes, electric cars, elevators, and mining and ship-loading equipment. It ceased operations in 1993.
The Stanserhorn is a mountain in Switzerland, located in the canton of Nidwalden near to the border with Obwalden, with the peak at 1,898 metres (6,227 ft) above sea level.
The Wengen–Männlichen aerial cableway is a cable car linking Wengen with the Männlichen in Switzerland. It is owned and operated by the Luftseilbahn Wengen–Männlichen AG.
The Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car was the first wire ropeway to open the summit of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain on the border of Austria. Designed and built by Adolf Bleichert & Co. of Leipzig, Germany, the system was a record-holder for the highest altitude.
Wings of Tatev is a 5.7 km (3.5 mi) cableway between Halidzor and the Tatev monastery in Armenia. It is the longest reversible aerial tramway built in only one section, and holds the record for Longest non-stop double track cable car. Construction was finished on 16 October 2010.
Kloof Nek Road, one of South Africa's oldest roads, was built in 1848 as an access road for the suburban pass with the same name which was used primarily as a look-out post for soldiers and a supply route to Camps Bay. The route starts at Kloof Street on the edge of the city bowl and turns into Camps Bay Road at the end of a mountain pass running between Table Mountain and Lion's Head. Despite being only two kilometers long, it is very steep with an average gradient 1:11. The summit of Kloof Nek Road is a small but complicated intersection that's not clearly visible on approach and often catches motorists unaware. The road's steepness may be a contributor to the regular occurrence of often-fatal accidents on Kloof Nek Road.
Maclear's Beacon is a triangulation station used in Maclear's arc measurement for Earth's circumference determination.
Military cableways were used in the First World War by Italy and Austria-Hungary to transport supplies up to their troops in mountain sectors of the front. Troops were often in high-altitude positions during the so-called “White War”, far removed from roads, mule tracks, pathways or existing cablecars. Moreover, where such infrastructure did exist, it generally followed the easiest routes and was therefore exposed to enemy fire. Providing the troops on the front line with a reliable supply of food and ammunition therefore often required the building of new infrastructure.
The Wetterhorn Elevator was an aerial tramway in the valley of Grindelwald. It connected the base of the Upper Grindelwald Glacier to a higher location in the Wetterhorn massif. The tramway was inaugurated in 1908, making it the first of its kind in Switzerland. It closed only a few years later in 1915.
