Cable Car Confidential CUP Sample

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Cable Car Conf i de ntial The Essential guide to Cable cars, Urban gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit

1st Edition 2013 Creative Ur ban Projec ts

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About this guide Cable Propelled Transit (CPT), once relegated almost exclusively to alpine resorts and amusement parks, is now playing a much greater role in providing commuter and tourist services in urban areas.

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As the world’s human population urbanizes, the need to strengthen transportation networks intensifies. Yet, while cities across the globe search for innovative ideas to enhance and complement their existing transit lines, objective and accurate analyses of CPT has unfortunately been subject to much misinformation and misunderstanding.

How to Read this Guide While we would be delighted if you read this document cover to cover, we recognize that’s probably not going to happen. This guide has therefore been designed primarily as a reference tool. So take a look at the table of contents and feel free to read the sections in any order you wish.

As a direct response to this dilemma, this guide has been crafted to provide readers with a comprehensive and nontechnical understanding of cable transit technology. Using this guide, individuals from all backgrounds can learn what CPT is, how it can be implemented and where it is currently operating around the globe. This guide not only explains what is possible with CPT technology but also addresses what limitations it faces. In our daily practice, we think of transit technologies as we think of different food groups. None are good or bad; some are simply better than others in a given place, time or situation. That may sound far-fetched, but it’s apt. To us, cable transit is simply one out of many food groups (i.e. buses, subways, light rail, cars, bicycles) which contribute to a healthy and balanced menu of transportation options. The work presented here is guaranteed to change over time. That tends to happen in an industry as dynamic and growing as cable transit is. New ideas are being generated constantly and the information presented can often be contradictory. Opinions, worldviews and languages often conflict with one another and no one’s really sure what’s going to happen — but everyone’s got an idea about what should happen. This document, then, is certain to be amended, changed, and altered as new information is gathered and questions are answered in future editions. Nevertheless, what you have in your hands (or on your screen) right now is the most robust and useful analysis of Cable Propelled Transit solutions in the world today.

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Table of Contents 1

What is CPT?...................................................................................................................................... 2

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1.0 Introduction

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1.2 Nomenclature................................................................................................................................... 3

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1.3 History................................................................................................................................................. 5

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1.4 Growth............................................................................................................................................... 7 1.5

Cable Manufacturers...................................................................................................................... 8

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2.0 CPT Technology 2.1

10

Cable Components........................................................................................................................11

2.2 Grips................................................................................................................................................. 13 2.3

Monocable Detachable Gondola (MDG)................................................................................. 15

2.4 Bicable Detachable Gondola (BDG).......................................................................................... 16 2.5

Tricable Detachable Gondola (TDG/3S).....................................................................................17

2.6 Funitel............................................................................................................................................... 18 2.7 Aerial Tram....................................................................................................................................... 19 2.8

Pulsed Gondola.............................................................................................................................. 20

2.9 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 21

3.0 CPT Features

23

3.1 Environment.................................................................................................................................... 24 3.2 Speed............................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Safety ............................................................................................................................................... 27 3.4 Stations............................................................................................................................................. 32 3.5 Cornering......................................................................................................................................... 34 3.6 Towers............................................................................................................................................... 36 3.7 Cabins ............................................................................................................................................. 39 3.8 Expansion........................................................................................................................................ 43 3.9 Service Quality................................................................................................................................ 45 3.10 Implementation Costs.................................................................................................................... 47 3.11 Operations & Maintenance.......................................................................................................... 48 3.12 Limitations........................................................................................................................................ 51

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4.0 CPT & the Urban Landscape

4.1 Impacts of CPT on Urban Environment ...................................................................................... 54

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4.2 Urban Implementation Strategies................................................................................................ 56 4.3 Rivers & Channels........................................................................................................................... 57

Transit Extension.............................................................................................................................. 59

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4.4 Urban Peaks.................................................................................................................................... 58

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4.6 Airport Connector.......................................................................................................................... 60

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4.7

City Circulator................................................................................................................................. 61

4.8 Best Practices: Design & Implementation................................................................................... 63 4.9 Best Practices: O&M & Service..................................................................................................... 66

5.0 System Profiles

70

5.1

Worldwide CPT................................................................................................................................ 71

5.2

Medellin Line K................................................................................................................................ 72

5.3

Medellin Line J.................................................................................................................................74

5.4

Caracas Metrocable..................................................................................................................... 76

5.5

Teleferico do Alemao.................................................................................................................... 78

5.6 Roosevelt Island Tram..................................................................................................................... 80 5.7

Constantine Telecabine................................................................................................................ 82

5.8

Tlemcen Telecabine....................................................................................................................... 84

5.9 Skikda Telecabine.......................................................................................................................... 86 5.10

Portland Aerial Tram....................................................................................................................... 88

5.11

Medellin Line L - Cable Arvi.......................................................................................................... 90

5.12 Emirates Air Line.............................................................................................................................. 92 5.13

Koblenz Rheinseilbahn................................................................................................................... 94

5.14

Teleferico Warairarepano............................................................................................................. 96

5.15 Ngong Ping 360.............................................................................................................................. 98 5.16 Singapore Cable Car.................................................................................................................. 100 5.17

Funivia del Renon ........................................................................................................................ 102

5.18

Planned Systems........................................................................................................................... 105

5.19 System Stats................................................................................................................................... 107

6.0 Conclusion 6.1

109

Final Thoughts................................................................................................................................110

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1.0 Introduction

So you’re interested in cable? Well then you’ve come to the right place. Cable Car Confidential is designed to be the world’s most comprehensive, easy-to-understand and useful resource on this emerging public transit technology. It will provide readers with knowledge about an often misunderstood transport typology and educate them on how to best implement this technology in an urban environment. This 2013 edition is the first of what will be a yearly publication which monitors, tracks and analyzes Cable Propelled Transit systems from around the world.

Creative Urban Projects Inc.

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Introduction

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1.1 What is CPT?

Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) is a transportation technology that moves people in motor-less, engineless vehicles that are propelled by a steel cable.

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Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) is a transportation technology that moves people in motor-less, engine-less vehicles that are propelled by a steel cable. The two main CPT configurations include Top-Supported systems (vehicles/cabins supported from above) and Bottom-Supported systems (cabins supported from below via tracks). While both CPT types are used in urban settings, this document will focus only on Top-Supported systems. In total, there are six major top-supported cable technologies that are relevant for our purposes here. It’s not important to remember what each one does right now — but it is important to remember that each offers its own unique cost-performance package with varying speeds, capacities, and pricing.

Cable Propelled Transit

BottomSupported

TOPSUPPORTED

MDG

BDG

TDG/3S

FUNITEL

AERIAL TRAM

PULSED GONDOLA

CABLE LINERS CABLE CARS Funiculars Mini-metros Inclined elevators

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FIELD NOTE 1: CABLE AS A COMPLEMENTARY TECHNOLOGY

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PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE IN CUREALLS FOR A SIMPLE REASON: CUREALLS DON’T EXIST.

KEY LESSON: If you want to be taken seriously by people, you must position cable cars not as a cureall but as one among many complementary technologies and tools.

One of the most common mistakes we see people make with alternative transportation technologies (gondolas and cable cars included) is to pitch it as a cure-all to the ills of public transit — don’t do that. For a hundred years transportation planners have heard how bullet trains, moving sidewalks, monorails, maglevs and PRT (personal rapid transit) systems were going to singlehandedly revolutionize our cities. Those revolutions, however, failed to materialize because there’s no single, silver bullet solution to any given problem. As the saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Same goes for public transportation. Planners, policy-makers, financiers and engineers are a skeptical group of individuals. And that skepticism will quickly turn to cynicism if you walk into a room and start proclaiming cable cars as the singular solution to every one of their transport problems. When public transportation works best, it’s because it’s multi-modal. That is, it leverages the strengths of a variety of transport modes to create a dense, useful and viable network. Your car, your bike, your feet and your national airline all serve a separate purpose. If you talk about dozens of kilometers of gondolas zipping across your city, people are likely to dismiss you as a dreamer and a Utopian. People don’t believe in curealls for a simple reason: Cure-alls don’t exist. Instead, find the two or three places in your city where you can use a cable car to fill an existing gap and complement the existing transportation network. Demonstrate that cable cars are nothing more than one among many tools in the transport planner’s toolbox. Do that, and you’ll find your audience to be far more open-minded.

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2.0 CPT Technology

You now know that cable transit isn’t a singular technology but a family of several varying technologies, each with their own costs and benefits. But what exactly are those costs and benefits? What are the trade-offs involved? How can you make a rational choice about what system is most useful to you? The next section deals with all that and more.

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1.1

Monodetachable Gondola

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CPT Technology

1 cable for propulsion and support

Technology: Monocable Detachable Gondolas (MDG) are the most basic and common CPT systems used for urban transit installations. This technology utilizes a single cable which provides both propulsion and support. Since the cable line circulates continuously around two end terminals, MDGs are classed as continuously circulating systems. An MDG’s detachable grip enables cabins to detach from the propulsion cable upon entering a station and reattaching when exiting. MDG cabins typically seat 8 passengers but can have capacities ranging anywhere from 4-15 riders. They are increasingly popular forms of public transportation due to their high reliability, modest capacities, relative low cost and quick implementation times. Application: MDG systems are well-suited and easily adapted to the urban environment whether it’s built on challenging topography or flat land. In large cities, they typically complement rapid transit trunk lines by functioning as feeder systems. However, in smaller cities with lower transport demands, they can operate as a primary transportation line. MDG systems are also the most common tourist-oriented gondola systems found in cities.

Technical Stats # of Cables: 1

Cabin: up to 15

Grip: Detachable

Max Wind Speed: 70 kph

Max Speed: ~22 kph

Example: Teleferico de Gaia Gaia

detached in the station

Relative Cost: Low

Max Capacity: up to 4000 persons per hour per direction (pphpd)

attached to 1 cable for both support and propulstion

cabins slow dramatically, run on track

detached in the station

$

detached in the station

cabins slow dramatically, run on track

attached to 1 propulsion cable, supported by 1 stationary cable

detached in the station

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3.0 CPT Features

The strengths and weaknesses of Cable Propelled Transit are numerous. Learning what the benefits and the costs associated with the technology will allow you to speak intelligently with stakeholders, planners and politicians. This section will discuss how cable car technologies can contribute to a safe, user-friendly and efficient transport network while discussing some of the drawbacks associated with the technology.

Creative Urban Projects Inc.

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CPT Features

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3.9 Service Quality

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Comfort

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CPT offers various sized cabins with both sitting and standing areas. The stations and cabins can be equipped with air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter. The windows can be tinted to block bright sunlight, while also allowing for a view of the surrounding area. Since cabins are fully enclosed, riders are protected from the elements. For many systems, air vents in cabins provide natural ventilation which is sufficient in ensuring optimal passenger comfort.

Noise

Gondolas generate minimal noise pollution because they operate with no on-board motor. Gondola operations are very quiet and the noise typically originates from terminal stations and towers (when cabins pass-by). Sound mitigation techniques can decrease noise coming from stations to minimize disturbance to its surroundings.

Wait Times

Wait times are subject to factors such as cabin frequency, cabin size, line speeds and passenger volumes. Since cabins circulate continuously between two end terminals, wait times to board a gondola are typically less than one minute. This means that unlike buses and trains, schedules are not required.

Reliability

Reliability on many urban CPT systems is remarkably high  —  ranging from 99.3% to 99.9%. To ensure high levels of service, system operators adhere to strict preventative maintenance guidelines. Poor weather conditions (i.e. mainly high wind speeds, and ice and thunderstorms to a lesser degree) are generally the reasons behind service interruptions. However, high technological performance standards enable certain CPT systems (i.e. TDG/3S) to operate at wind speeds greater than 100 kph.

...cabins can be equipped with air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter.

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4.0 CPT & the Urban Landscape

Similar to other types of transportation infrastructure, constructing CPT systems can have profound impacts on the local and surrounding urban environment. Balancing sound transport improvements while doing no harm to the surrounding urban fabric should be the goal of all urban cable systems. This section is broken down into three main subject areas: 1. Impacts of CPT on the Urban Environment 2. Urban Implementation Strategies 3. Best Practices

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4.5

Transit Extension

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CPT & the Urban Landscape

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Extending urban rail lines is often time-consuming and costly. In many cases, they are unable to navigate steep and/or challenging topography. As an alternative to expensive rail or road civil works, cities can simply extend the reach of their rapid transit network via a cost-effective and time-conscious CPT installation. Once built and integrated into an urban mass transit system, CPT lines offer an innovative transport solution that can enhance connectivity with new and/or existing communities, effectively solving connectivity and last-mile problems. In some cities, new cable lines have shown that they can spur new development along the transit corridor and/or revitalize neighborhoods.

Rapid Transit Extension Line

Rapid Transit Extension Line

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5.0 System Profiles

Dozens of cable transit systems are now operating around the world. This section will provide an analysis of some of the most important cable systems in operations today and what we can learn from them. Please note, however, that this is not an exhaustive list of all urban cable car systems. More system profiles will be added and existing profiles will be updated in future editions.

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5.3

Medellin Line j

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System Profiles

Technology: MDG

Length: 2.6 km

Year: 2008

Stations: 4

Max Speed: 18 kph

Avg Speed: 16 kph Cabin Capacity: 10

Cabins in Operation: 119

Trip Time: 10 minutes

System Capacity: 3,000 pphpd

Annual Ridership: 5,000,000

$

System Cost: $50,000,000 (USD)

$ $ $

Cost per KM: $19,200,000 (USD)

About

After the successful implementation of Line K, the city quickly began construction of Medellin’s second cable lift - Line J. This 2.6km line replaced the untimely and unreliable private bus system and was built as part of a larger social development program. By providing a quick and direct connection to the Metro network, its primary purpose was to improve living standards in the city’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Since its opening, this cable lift effectively integrated several terrainconstrained communities back into the city proper. This CPT line operates in the San Javier district, which include the rapidly expanding and growing barrio neighbourhoods of Vallejuelos and La Aurora. N

La Aurora Metro Medellín

Valejuello

$$

Juan XXIII

Fare Cost: ~$1.00 (USD)

45

1,0

San Javier

920

* Catchment for visualization purposes only.

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Want more?

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If you’re ready to move forward with a ropeway project, maybe we should talk. CUP and our network of ropeway technicians and engineers can provide you with all the expertise you need to realize an urban or tourist-oriented ropeway of your own. Our services include (but are certainly not limited to): • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Feasibility & Business Case Studies Technical & Engineering Studies Technical Drawings System Commissioning & Certification Operations Planning Project Management Risk Assessments Implementation Planning Environmental Analysis Norms Identification Staff Training Spare Parts Assessment Energy Requirements Policy, Permitting & Concessioning Procurement Services & Tendering Ropeway Engineering and Design Presentation Support Speaking Engagements Workshops & Training Community Development & Engagement Conceptual Design Studies System Proposals Cost Estimations Political Liaison Services Project Benchmarking Media Relations Operations & Maintenance Planning Industry Liaison Services Policy Analysis Document Writing and Design Static and Structural Calculations Financing Support

Find us online at www.gondolaproject.com or visit our new ropeway services page, now testing in Beta mode at www. cable-car.net.

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ABOUT CUP Creative Urban Projects Inc. (CUP or CUP Projects) is a small planning, research and design studio located in downtown Toronto, Canada and central Switzerland. CUP was born out of the bizarre niche understanding and interest in the application of ski-lift style gondola technology to problems of mass public transit. As one of the few urban planners in the world who specialized on the topic, CUP Founder Steven Dale worked as a freelance planning consultant, advisor and researcher to educate the urban planning community about the merits and complexities of this little understood technology. After a couple of years working researching the technology, building a client base and learning from his experience working with alternative urban concepts and ideas, Steven founded a new urban planning shop he called Creative Urban Projects. Inspired partly by his upbringing in the arts, Steven intended the firm to be a conduit for the city building industries to understand, popularize, adapt and extrapolate those concepts, practices and ideas that sometimes land on the fringes of orthodox urban planning practice through no fault of their own. Since then, CUP’s business, staff and network of associates has expanded rapidly to several continents and areas of practice. Cable transit still remains the core of the business. To grow that part of the business, CUP has forged a relationship with ropeway veteran, Tino Imhäuser, that now allows the company to offer a full-slate of ropeway services from conception, planning, engineering, installation and operations. This growth has also allowed CUP to move into other areas of research and expertise. CUP and its network of associates offers a wide slate of professional planning and design services that blend rigorous qualitative and quantitative analysis, highquality professionalism, and a creative method unique in understanding the complexities of the urban form.

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Image Credits Cover Photo by Thomas Krummenacher. All rights reserved. 1.0 Introduction Photo by CUP. All rights reserved.

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2.0 Technology Photo by CUP. All rights reserved. 3.0 CPT Features Photo by Aboutmovies. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license from http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portland_Tram_support_with_car. JPG.

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3.9 Service Quality Photo by CUP. All rights reserved. 4.0 CPT & the Urban Landscape Photo by Flickr user simononly. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license from http://www.flickr.com/ photos/simononly/7859365682/. 4.5 Rapid Transit Extension Photo by Flickr user Sebástian Freire. Used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/doisbicudos/7370848130/. 5.0 System Profiles Photo by Thomas Krummenacher. All rights reserved. 5.3 Medellin Line J Photo by CUP. All rights reserved.

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