Construction process of a cable car
What is the construction process of a cable car? What steps are taken before the cable car can be put into use? It sometimes seems as if building a cable car is a routine job. So there is nothing at all and a year later there is suddenly a complete cable car installation. Cable cars are being renovated at the same pace. A new one will appear next to the old track or the old track will be half demolished and the new cable car will appear in the same place.
Customization
Although it seems as if a cable car is a standard product, you need stations, supports, cables and cabins. Every cable car is different and is indeed tailor-made. When building a new cable car, the purpose of it and the landscape must be looked at. Is the intention to create a connection in the lower mountains to open up a ski area or should it be a prestige project to create a connection in the higher mountains? Building a transport system for general use in the city requires different preparations than a cable car for mass tourism.
The question is therefore what the purpose is and what type of cable car should be used for this. A simple drag lift is easier to install than an 8-person chairlift, funicular, a circular cable car or a pendulum cable car . To determine which type is best suited to the situation, the landscape is examined. Is it about a city, a hill or even the higher mountains? In addition it is important to know how many passengers must be transported per hour, how long the track must be and what height difference must be overcome. An estimate can be made based on this data. Naturally, the available budget must also be taken into account.
Costs
The costs of a cable car also depend on the requirements. Building the simplest ski lift can start from € 175,000. A luxurious, large, modern pendulum cable car, on the other hand, can easily cost 25 to 50 million. The actual costs will therefore completely depend on what the requirements are and the circumstances in which construction has to take place.
In general, a cable car is built within a very short period of time. The reason for this is the weather. Unlike the countryside, there can be snow in the mountains until summer. Winter also starts faster in the mountains, making a short construction time very important.
Planning and start of work
It varies per country where the approval for building a cable car must be requested. Usually, approval for building a simple ski lift or chair lift can be requested at smaller authorities. Larger projects in which the landscape will change drastically, and new visitor flows must also be taken into account, are handled by higher authorities.
As soon as permission has been granted, measuring the area can begin. What heights must be overcome, what will be the ideal route and what must be taken into account. The places where the supports and stations are to be placed are measured.
The necessary aids can then be delivered to their destination. Consider the excavators and cranes that are needed. The first excavations are taking place so that steel concrete can be poured for the foundations of the supports and the stations. At the same time, all further supplies required later in the process are purchased.
Installation work
Because a project must be completed in a short period of time, many activities are carried out simultaneously. If an old cable car is being replaced, the old installation will be demolished while the support pillars for the new installation are already being installed. Local construction companies are used for more general construction work such as the construction of the new stations. Specialist work such as the construction of the cabins, supports, cables, etc. is carried out by specialist companies. While work is in full swing throughout the area, the cabins, gondolas or chairs are already being built at another location.
The support pillars that are needed cannot be brought to the location by truck due to the landscape, so a helicopter is used for this. To get the pillars in the right place, the part is mounted at the bottom of the helicopter by specialists on site. This is precision work as these support pillars must be installed in the right place with millimeter accuracy. The pilots of these transport helicopters are therefore specially trained pilots.
Cable installation
The cables that are needed must of course also be transported to their destination. However, these cables are so heavy that they cannot be flown in with a helicopter. Heavy transport is used to get the cables to the stations. The cables are slowly driven up from the back of a truck trailer. Because of the small mountain paths, this is also a precision job, even for the experienced driver.
Because the cables are so heavy, they cannot be placed on the support pillars at once. First of all, a thin and light auxiliary cable is pulled over the pillars of the entire route manually or by helicopter. Then the real cable is tied to the auxiliary cable and it is slowly pulled over the support pillars until the cable covers the entire route.
Because there is now a cable with 2 ends, it must be connected together. Ultimately it should become 1 cable that goes completely around without beginning and end. The cables are assembled together by means of cable splicing. This is a difficult task and is carried out by specialists.
Completion of installation
Now that the cables have been installed, the gondolas, cabins or chairs can be connected to the cable or placed in one of the stations. Electricians ensure that the electricity is installed correctly so that the control and monitoring systems function and the engines start running.
At the end, the cable car is extensively tested. Where necessary, any problems are resolved so that the cable car functions safely and properly. Finally, the cable car must be inspected. A special inspector checks the entire track in detail. If anything is not quite right, the new track will not be released. Once everything has been approved, the cable car will be released and the new gondolas can start making their rounds.
All in all, building a cable car is a difficult task because everything has to be perfectly coordinated. Due to the very variable conditions in the mountains, it is also a tough task for the employees.
Also read the articles about cable car terminology or about the different cable car types.
