An aerial tramway is a type of aerial lift, sometimes called a cable car or ropeway, and frequently incorrectly referred to as a gondola.
An aerial tramway consists of two or more loops of cable, and two passenger cabins. One of the cables is always fixed, and provides support for the cabins. The second cable is, by means of a grip, connected to the cabins. This second cable is usually driven by an electric motor, and, being connected to the cabins, moves them up or down the mountain. They differ from gondola lifts in that the latter use several smaller cabins circulating on a looped cable.
The two passenger cabins, which carry from 4 to over 100 people, are situated at opposite ends of the loops of cable. Thus, while one is coming up, the other is going down the mountain. Some aerial trams have only one cabin.
The original version was originally called telpherage, and was invented by engineer Fleeming Jenkin. Smaller telpherage systems are sometimes used to transport objects (such as tools or mail) within a building or factory.
Table Mountain has a rotating cable car ferrying passengers to and from the top of the mountain.
Asia
China
Chongqing An aerial tramway provides transportation across the Yangtse River. The tramway is 740m long and operates at 8m/s. Each cabin can carry a maximum of 45 passengers, with a total design capacity of 900 passengers /hour in each direction.
India
Gangtok – A ropeway is in operation in the eastern Himalayan town of Gangtok. The ropeway ferries tourists from one part of the city to another.
Phelagham – in this ski resort in Jammu and Kashmir, the cable cars ferry passengers up the ski slopes.
Iran
The Tochal Tele-cabin which starts from the metropolitan Tehran and ends in the Tochal Ski Resort in the 3900m high. It has 7 stations and is one of the longest and most scenic in the world. A modern ski hotel hosts the skiers at the end of the tramway.
Namakabrood aerial tramway, in the Mazandaran province of Iran. It starts at the sea level near the shores of the Caspian Sea and ends on the top of the Alborz heights crossing dense forest area of northern Iran.
Ganjnameh Cable Car in Hamedan province of Iran is situated in an archaeological site belonging to the Sassanid era.
Israel
The Masada cableway which lifts visitors from well below sea level up to the butte where the ancient Jewishfortresstown's ruins can be seen. The only other way up is a snake path.
The Rosh Hanikra cableway which takes visitors down to the grottos carved by the Mediterraenan Sea.
The Manara cableway which lifts people from Kiryat Shmona to Kibbutz Manara at the top of Manara Cliff .
Singapore
The Singapore cable car[1] from Mount Faber to Sentosa Island; interesting in that it has an intermediate stop, and was the first in the world to span a harbour.
The Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, opened in 1955, can carry 75 passengers in the first section and 65 passengers in the second section. It starts in Chamonix at the altitude of 1030 metres to Plan de l'Aiguille at 2317 metres for the first section. The second section arrives at the top of the Aiguille du Midi in a station at 3777 metres high. It is the highest aerial tramway in the world.Description from the Compagnie du Mont Blanc site
The Vanoise Express, opened in December 2003 at a cost of €15 million, is a double decker tramway for 200 passengers in each car. It spans the Ponturin gorge at a height of 380 metres (1250 feet) above the ground, linking the resorts of La Plagne and Les Arcs in four minutes to form the Paradiski ski resort. Unusually its two cars run independently of each other on separate cables. [2]
Germany
The Eibsee Seilbahn, which affords visitors access to Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze. There is also a cog railway up the Zugspitze.
The Tegelbergbahn, or Tegelbahn, near Schwangau in Bavaria in beautiful Alpine scenery.
In Switzerland, many aerial tramways are in use, including:
the Adliswil to Felsenegg tramway, part of Zürich's suburban public transport system.
one serving the Schilthorn mountain in the Bernese Oberland. It appeared in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. With a length of 6931 meters (22739 feet) in four tracks, it is the longest aerial tramway in the Alps and the world's longest aerial tramway system. It gains over 2103 meters (6900 feet) of elevation.
A complete list of publicly available Swiss aerial tramways (excluding other types of aerial lifts), is available at list of aerial tramways in Switzerland.
A very famous aerial tramway is located at Rio de Janeiro. It is actually composed of two separate cable car systems, one going from city level to the top of the Hill of the Urca (where there was formerly a famous casino), and a second one going from the hill to the top of the Sugarloaf Mountain.
