The Himachal Pradesh government may introduce the ropeway transport system used in countries such as Bolivia, Switzerland and Austria in remote and inaccessible area of the state for providing all-weather connectivity.

“The transportation system is extremely robust as it can withstand extreme temperature and high wind speeds and can be used for providing connectivity over many snow clapped mountains and passes. The system could help in providing all weather connectivity to inaccessible areas in Himachal Pradesh,” said Sanjay Kundu, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister.

“Ropeway system was a complete solution for urban transportation problems, decongestion, rural connectivity, for tourism purposes and year round connectivity to remote and inaccessible tribal areas. This system is cost effective, eco-friendly, requires least footprint and can be constructed in a very short span of time,” he added.

Kundu recently led a delegation of government officials to Bolivia, Switzerland and Austria to study the ropeway system as a solution for urban and rural transport. They also visited the manufacturing units of the top ropeway companies in the world.

On 16 May, the delegation visited the Carrosserie Werke Aarburg (CWA), the manufacturer of ropeway cabins, at Olten Switzerland. The company was founded in 1939 and later it became part of the of Dopplemayr Garaventa group.

The delegation toured the manufacturing unit, studied the quality of material and manufacturing process and got first-hand experience about the various types of cable car cabins used for different applications.

The delegation had a detailed meeting with the management and engineers of CWA and were satisfied with its quality assurance for safety of passengers, said Kundu.

He said the delegation also visited the head office and manufacturing unit of Doppelmayr Garaventa group, the world’s largest ropeway equipment manufacturer, at Wolfurt, Austria.

This group manufactures chair lifts, cable cars, gondolas etc and has produced over 14,600 installations in 89 countries.

The company management gave presentation on mono-cable, bi-cable, tri-cable, ski-lift, cable cars suitable for urban, rural, remote and tourist transportation. The delegation comprehended various applications of rope driven transportation and this was followed by discussion on its usage in the context of geographical conditions of Himachal Pradesh.

Later, the delegation had a detailed visit of the manufacturing unit and minutely observed each and every process involved in manufacturing of ropeways, said Kundu.

On 18 May, the delegation visited the Funicular and 3S-Ropeway in Stans Switzerland installed by Doppelmayr and operated by CabriO cable car company.

The delegation also visited the engine or machine room, studied the model and thoroughly inspected the functioning of the cable car. The length of CabriO cable car is 2,320 meter with carrying capacity of 465 persons per hour per direction and a speed of 8 metre per second, Kundu added.