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.
23-654: The Shinhotaka Ropeway ( 新穂高ロープウェイ , Shinhotaka Rōpuwei ) is an aerial lift system in Takayama , Gifu Prefecture , Japan , and is operated by Okuhi Sightseeing Development ( 奥飛観光開発 , Okuhi Kankō Kaihatsu ) . The Meitetsu Group company also operates hotels in the area. Opened in 1970, the line climbs to the hillside of the Hida Mountains ' Mount Hotaka , the third tallest mountain in Japan. The Shinhotaka Ropeway consists of two lines. Ropeway No. 2
46-559: A Swiss manufacturer of gondola lifts, chairlifts, and cable cars. In 2002, Doppelmayr acquired CWA, a Swiss maker of gondola and cable car cabins. The merger of Doppelmayr and Garaventa was announced in 2001 and completed in 2002. In 2016 they broke two world records in Vietnam: Called the Ha Long Queen Cable Car, the largest cable car cabins (produced by Swiss company CWA) travel on the tallest ropeway support of
69-652: A bridge connection between the adjacent cabins. The main advantage of the funifor system is its stability in high wind conditions owing to the horizontal distance between the two support ropes. Chairlifts are continuously circulating systems carrying chairs, which usually enable skiers to board without removing skis. They are a common type of lift at most ski areas and in mountainous areas. They can also be found at some amusement parks and tourist attractions. Detachable chairlifts usually move far faster than fixed-grip chairlifts, typically 5 m/s (16.4 ft/s) compared with 2 to 2.5 m/s (6.6 to 8.2 ft/s). Because
92-623: A separate moving rope provides propulsion. The grip of an aerial tramway is permanently fixed onto the propulsion rope. Aerial trams used for urban transport include the Roosevelt Island Tramway in New York City , as well as the Portland Aerial Tram . A gondola lift consists of a continuously circulating cable that is strung between two or more stations, over intermediate supporting towers. The cable
115-403: A single haul cable is looped round twice. Funitels combine a short time between successive cabins with a high capacity (20 to 30 people) per cabin. A funifor is a type of cable car with two support ropes and a haul rope, looped around. Each system is composed of a single cabin shuttling back-and-forth. Many installations are built with two parallel, but independent, lines. The funifor design
138-470: Is a fusion of a gondola lift and a chair lift. The company Leitner refers to it as telemix , while Doppelmayr uses the term combination lift . An example is Ski Arlberg 's Weibermahd lift in Vorarlberg ( Austria ) which alternates between 8-person chairlifts and 10-person gondolas. In undeveloped areas with rough terrain, simple hand-powered cable-cars may be used for crossing rivers, such as
161-552: Is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, having been established by Doppelmayr in 1996. Up until 2019, the subsidiary was referred to as DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car. The first installation was completed at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in 1999. In 2003, after the world's first maglev transport system (opened in 1984 at Birmingham International Airport ) fell into disrepair, DCC installed
184-419: Is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal, which is connected to an engine or electric motor . Multiple gondola cabins are attached to the cable, usually with detachable grips, enabling them to slow down in the stations to facilitate safe boarding. Fixed grip variants exist, although these are considerably less common. Lifts with a single cable are sometimes referred to as "mono-cable" gondola lifts. Depending on
207-490: Is the first aerial lift in Japan to use double decker cabins. This article about a Japanese aerial tramway, funicular line, or related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 36°16′58″N 137°34′49.3″E / 36.28278°N 137.580361°E / 36.28278; 137.580361 Aerial lift A cable car ( British English ) or an aerial tramway , aerial tram ( American English ), uses one or two stationary ropes for support while
230-543: The Peak 2 Peak Gondola (Canada). A funitel differs from a standard gondola lift through the use of two overhead arms, attached to two parallel haul cables, providing more stability in high winds. The name funitel is a blend of the French words funiculaire and telepherique . Systems may sometimes be referred to as "double monocable" (DMC), where two separate haul cables are used, or "double loop monocable" (DLM) where
253-588: The Republic of the Congo , was over 75 km in length. The Norsjö aerial tramway in Sweden had a length of 96 kilometers. The following abbreviations are frequently used in the industry: Doppelmayr Garaventa Group 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,
SECTION 10
#1732775475388276-507: The tuin used in Nepal. A material ropeway or ropeway conveyor is an aerial lift from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended. These are usually monocable or bicable gondola lifts . Material ropeways are typically found around large mining concerns, and can be of considerable length. The COMILOG Cableway , which ran from Moanda in Gabon to Mbinda in
299-524: The " AirRail Link " to replace the maglev and temporary replacement bus-service that had been operating since 1995. The company is contracted to operate some of the systems it builds. A newer system is Luton DART , opened in March 2023. Doppelmayr Transport Technology GmbH develops and sells material-handling ropeway systems . Initially, these systems were similar to cable cars and chairlifts designed for people, but fitted with specially designed carriers. In
322-571: The "3S" tricable gondola lift , having acquired the technology from Von Roll Seilbahnen, and built lifts including those located in Kitzbühel ( Austria ), Koblenz ( Germany ) and Whistler-Blackcomb ( Canada ). Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH manufactures automated people movers . Their main product is the rope-propelled Cable Liner system, used in airports , city centres , intermodal passenger transport connections, park and ride facilities, campuses, resorts, and amusement parks . The company
345-441: The cable moves faster than most passengers could safely disembark and load, each chair is connected to the cable by a powerful spring-loaded cable grip which detaches at terminals, allowing the chair to slow considerably for convenient loading and unloading at a typical speed of 0.75 m/s (2.5 ft/s), a speed slower even than fixed-grip. Chairs may be fitted with a "bubble" canopy to offer weather protection. A hybrid lift
368-932: The design of the individual lift, the capacity, cost, and functionality of a gondola lift will differ dramatically. Because of the proliferation of such systems in the Alpine regions of Europe , the French language name of télécabine is also used in an English language context. Gondola lifts are also used for urban transportation. Examples include the Singapore Cable Car , Metrocable (Medellín) , Metrocable (Caracas) , Mi Teleférico ( La Paz ), and London Cable Car . Gondola lifts which feature one stationary 'support' rope and one haul rope are known as bi-cable gondola lifts, while lifts that feature two support ropes and one haul rope are known as tri-cable gondola lifts. Examples include Ngong Ping Skyrail ( Hong Kong ) and
391-646: The early 2000s, Doppelmayr developed a cable-driven material-handling ropeway called RopeCon. RopeCon is a conveyor system that can transport materials over long distances with little ground disturbance. Such installations can be found in Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Sudan, Switzerland, and Austria. CWA Constructions SA of Olten , Switzerland, was acquired by Doppelmayr in 2001. The subsidiary manufactures cabins, such as gondola and people mover cabins, for most Doppelmayr Garaventa Group installations as well as for systems built by other manufacturers. Frey AG Stans
414-519: 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. Doppelmayr was founded in Wolfurt , Austria in 1893 (originally as Konrad Doppelmayr & Sohn), and started manufacturing ropeways in 1937. Garaventa
437-835: The world. In 2017, produced by Garaventa and CWA, the steepest funicular railway came into effect in Stoos , Switzerland . Doppelmayr Garaventa Group operates subsidiaries in 50 countries manufacturing ropeways under the Doppelmayr and Garaventa brands. Seven of these are responsible for manufacturing parts, namely Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH (Austria), Garaventa AG (Switzerland), Doppelmayr Canada Ltd., Sanhe Doppelmayr Transport Systems Co., Ltd. (China), Doppelmayr France SAS, Doppelmayr Italia Srl, and Doppelmayr USA, Inc. The company's core ropeway products include cable cars , funiculars , gondola lifts , detachable chairlifts , fixed grip chairlifts , and surface lifts . The company developed
460-564: Was developed by the Italian manufacturer, Hölzl, which later merged with Doppelmayr Italia. Today, the design is therefore patented by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group . At the top of each track, the haul rope loops back to the bottom instead of looping over to serve the other track, as would occur with a normal aerial tramway . This is shown in the diagram below. This feature allows for a single cabin operation when traffic warrants. The independent drive also allows for evacuations to occur by means of
483-433: Was founded in 1928. In 1967, Artur Doppelmayr [ de ] , grandson of the founder Konrad and son of Emil, who was a businessman, became managing director of the company. As alpine recreation rapidly expanded around the world during the last half of the 20th century, Artur led and established the Vorarlberg cable car company as the world leader. In 1996, Doppelmayr Holding AG acquired Von Roll Seilbahnen AG ,
SECTION 20
#1732775475388506-509: Was founded in 1966 and was acquired by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group in April 2017. The subsidiary manufactures various electrical components and control systems for ropeways. Gassner Stahlbau GmbH is a subsidiary based in Bürs , Austria, that manufactures steel for pylons, chairs, and suspension, as well as various plastic parts. Gassner Stahlbau has manufactured parts for Doppelmayr since 1969, and
529-581: Was later acquired by Doppelmayr. The Input Projektentwicklungs GmbH division produces mountain systems and amusement rides , such as the experimental Mountain Glider roller coaster in Walibi , Belgium . This project was plagued with problems and the ride was eventually removed. In December 2013, the company's Swedish division, Doppelmayr Scandinavia AB, acquired Swedish lift manufacturer Liftbyggarna AB, which has retained its own separate branding. The company
#387612