Editing Cable transport

{{Short description|Class of transport modes}}
[[File:Cablecar.zellamsee.500pix.jpg|thumb|Cable car at [[Zell am See]] in the Austrian Alps|alt=An Australian Alps cable car on a mountainside]]
{{transport}}

'''Cable transport''' is a broad class of [[transport]] modes that have [[Wire rope|cables]]. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called '''[[Aerial lift|cable cars]]'''. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by drives within the object being moved on '''cableways'''. The use of [[pulleys]] and balancing of loads moving up and down are common elements of cable transport. They are often used in mountainous areas where cable haulage can overcome large differences in elevation.

== Common modes of cable transport ==
[[File:Cable Transport 2.jpg|thumb|The [[Portland Aerial Tram]]|alt=An aerial tram part of a cable car system in Portland]]

=== Aerial transport ===
{{main|Aerial lift}}
Forms of cable transport in which one or more cables are strung between supports of various forms and cars are suspended from these cables.
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[Aerial tramway]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Hewitt |first=W. |title=The Bleichert System of Aerial Tramways: Reversible Aerial Tramways. Aerial Tramways of Special Design |publisher=Trenton Iron Company |year=1909 |url=https://archive.org/details/bleichertsystem01hewigoog |access-date=July 9, 2018 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bleichertsystem01hewigoog/page/n15 11]}}</ref>
* [[Chairlift]]<ref>{{cite book |author=United States. Forest Service |title=Tahoe National Forest (N.F.), Sugar Bowl Ski Resort Master Plan: Environmental Impact Statement |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbI2AQAAMAAJ&pg=SA11-PA357 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |page=11–PA357}}</ref>
* [[Funitel]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Kenney, Jim |title=Firsthand Report: Squaw Valley – This Place Has the Goods |website=DCSki |url=http://www.dcski.com/articles/1378 |access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Gondola lift]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=A.W. |last2=Secoy |first2=K. |last3=Jackson |first3=T. |title=The Global Canopy Handbook: Techniques of Access and Study in the Forest Roof |publisher=Global Canopy Programme |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-9542970-0-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TqssAQAAMAAJ |access-date=July 9, 2018 |page=93}}</ref>
* [[Ski lift]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Skiing Heritage Journal |publisher=International Skiing History Association |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGEKnwu7ApEC&pg=PA26 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |page=26|date=June 2004}}</ref>
* [[Zip line]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=E. |title=Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Backyard Recreation Projects |publisher=Quarto Publishing Group USA |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-61060-321-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVi5vYo9_BgC&pg=PA74 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |page=74}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

=== Cable railways ===
{{main|Cable railway}}
Forms of cable transport where cars on rails are hauled by cables. The rails are usually steeply inclined and usually at ground level. 
* [[Cable car (railway)|Cable car]]<ref name="cc">{{cite web |last1=Dailey |first1=Keli |title=Cable Car History |url=https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/muni/cable-cars/cable-car-history |publisher=SFMTA |access-date=10 July 2018 |language=en |date=3 October 2017}}</ref>
* [[Funicular]]<ref>{{cite web |title=What is a funicular railway? |url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/question512.htm |website=HowStuffWorks |access-date=10 July 2018 |language=en |date=14 November 2000}}</ref>

===Other===
Other forms of cable-hauled transport.
* [[Cable ferry]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Cable Ferries |url=https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/SNAME/72cc01e8-6276-4aemca-89d4-5b56078ba47d/UploadedFiles/Design%20&%20Analysis%20of%20a%20Cable%20Ferry.pdf |access-date=10 July 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[Surface lift]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Aerial Tramways, Ski Lifts, and Tows: Description and Terminology |date=1975 |publisher=Forest Service |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjNNAQAAMAAJ&q=surface+lift+description&pg=PA8 |access-date=10 July 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Elevator]]<ref>{{cite web |title=How Elevators Work |url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/elevator3.htm |website=HowStuffWorks |access-date=10 July 2018 |language=en |date=12 February 2002}}</ref>

== History ==
Rope-drawn transport dates back to 250 BC as evidenced by illustrations of aerial ropeway transportation systems in [[South China]].<ref name=hoffman>{{cite web |url=http://www.mas.bg.ac.rs/_media/istrazivanje/fme/vol34/4/5._hoffmann_205-212.pdf |title=Recent Developments in Cable-Drawn Urban Transport Systems |access-date=November 17, 2015 |publisher=mas.rs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oitaf.org/Kongress%202011/Referate/Marocchi.pdf |title=Early History |access-date=July 9, 2018 |publisher=oitaf.org |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305063627/http://www.oitaf.org/Kongress%202011/Referate/Marocchi.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Early aerial tramways ===
[[File:MayflowerTramwayBucket.jpg|thumb|right|An aerial tramway used in mining, at the [[Shenandoah-Dives Mill]] in [[Silverton, Colorado]]]]

The first recorded mechanical ropeway was by Venetian [[Fausto Veranzio]] who designed a bi-cable passenger ropeway in 1616. The industry generally considers Dutchman [[Adam Wybe]] to have built the first operational system in 1644. The technology, which was further developed by the people living in the Alpine regions of Europe, progressed and expanded with the advent of wire rope and electric drive.<ref name=csm />

The first use of [[wire rope]] for aerial tramways is disputed. American inventor [[Peter Cooper]] is one early claimant, constructing an aerial tramway using wire rope in [[Baltimore]] 1832, to move [[landfill]] materials. Though there is only partial evidence for the claimed 1832 tramway, Cooper was involved in many of such tramways built in the 1850s, and in 1853 he built a two-mile-long tramway to transport [[iron ore]] to his [[blast furnace]]s at [[Ringwood, New Jersey]].<ref name=highwire>{{cite book |title=Riding the Hire Wire |last=Trennert |first=Robert A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5sW9AwAAQBAJ |date=2001 |publisher=University Press of Colorado|isbn=9781457109850 }}</ref>

World War I motivated extensive use of [[Military cableways in the First World War|military tramways]] for warfare between Italy and Austria.<ref name="csm">{{cite web |url=http://www.mines.edu/library/ropeway/about_ropeways.html |title=About Ropeways |publisher=Colorado School of Mines – Arthur Lakes Library |author=Information Center for Ropeway Studies |date=2006-03-17 |access-date=2006-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904183704/http://www.mines.edu/library/ropeway/about_ropeways.html |archive-date=2006-09-04}}</ref>

During the industrial revolution, new forms of cable-hauled transportation systems were created including the use of steel cable to allow for greater load support and larger systems. [[Aerial tramway]]s were first used for commercial passenger haulage in the 1900s.<ref name=hoffman />

=== The first cable railways ===
[[File:Special feature in Y Cymro on the Llechwedd slate quarry at Blaenau Ffestiniog (15367488824).jpg|thumb|right|A gravity incline in use in 1955 at [[Llechwedd quarry]] in [[Wales]]. Empty wagons are arriving at the top of the incline – the winding drum is in the shed in the background]]
[[File:Harvey Cable Car.jpg|thumb|right|A test run on the Westside and Yonkers Patent Railway Company line in 1867]]
[[File:LLOYD(1876) VIEW OF CLAY STREET SHOWING THE WIRE RAILROAD pg191.jpg|thumb|right|Hallidie's Clay Street Hill Railroad, the first successful cable railway running at street level]]
The earliest form of [[cable railway]] was the '''gravity incline''', which in its simplest form consists of two parallel [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]] laid on a steep gradient, with a single rope wound around a winding drum and connecting the trains of [[Railroad car|wagons]] on the tracks. Loaded wagons at the top of the incline are lowered down, their weight hauling empty wagons from the bottom. The winding drum has a [[brake]] to control the rate of travel of the wagons. The first use of a gravity incline isn't recorded, but the [[Penrhyn Railway|Llandegai Tramway]] at [[Bangor, Gwynedd|Bangor]] in North [[Wales]] was opened in 1798, and is one of the earliest examples using iron rails.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=Alun John |title=The Slate Railways of Wales |date=2001 |publisher=Gwasg Carreg Gwalch |location=[[Llanrwst]] |isbn=978-0-86381-689-5 }}</ref>

The first '''cable-hauled street railway''' was the [[London and Blackwall Railway]], built in 1840, which used fibre to grip the haulage rope. This caused a series of technical and safety issues, which led to the adoption of [[steam locomotive]]s by 1848.<ref>{{cite web |title=The First Docklands Railway : The Story of the London and Blackwall Railway |url=https://isleofdogslife.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/the-first-docklands-railway-the-story-of-the-london-and-blackwall-railway/ |website=Isle of Dogs Life |access-date=9 July 2018 |date=13 July 2016}}</ref>

The first '''[[Funicular]] railway''' was opened in [[Funiculars of Lyon|Lyon]] in 1862.<ref>{{cite web |title=First Funicular Railway |url=https://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/content/pdf/montserratfunicularssantjoanhistory.pdf |access-date=11 July 2018}}</ref>

The [[IRT Ninth Avenue Line#West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway|Westside and Yonkers Patent Railway Company]] developed a '''cable-hauled [[elevated railway]]'''. This 3½ mile long line was proposed in 1866 and opened in 1868. It operated as a cable railway until 1871 when it was converted to use [[steam locomotive]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F1UPAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA455 |pages=455–456 |title=Report of the Public Commission for the First District of the State of New York |date=1907|last1=First District |first1=New York (State). Public Service Commission }}</ref>

The next development of the [[Cable car (railway)|cable car]] came in California. [[Andrew Smith Hallidie|Andrew Hallidie]], a Scottish emigre, gave [[San Francisco]] the first effective and commercially successful route, using steel cables, opening the [[Clay Street Hill Railroad]] on August 2, 1873.<ref>{{cite web |first=Joe |last=Thompson |date=1998–2004 |url=http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccwho.html |title=Who Was Important in the History of the Cable Car?}}</ref> Hallidie was a manufacturer of steel cables. The system featured a human-operated grip, which was able to start and stop the car safely. The rope that was used allowed the multiple, independent cars to run on one line, and soon Hallidie's concept was extended to multiple lines in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Stephen L. |title=San Francisco Cable Car – the gripping tale of an aged compact |url=http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Library/road_track.html |website=www.cablecarmuseum.org |access-date=9 July 2018}}</ref>

The first cable railway outside the [[United Kingdom]] and the United States was the [[Dunedin cable tramway system|Roslyn Tramway]], which opened in 1881, in [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]]. America remained the country that made the greatest use of cable railways; by 1890 more than 500 miles of cable-hauled track had been laid, carrying over 1,000,000 passengers per year. However, in 1890, electric tramways exceeded the cable hauled tramways in mileage, efficiency and speed.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ESnBiR7vLPQC |title=World Railways of the Nineteenth Century: A Pictorial History in Victorian Engravings |last=Harter |first=Jim |publisher=JHU Press |date=2005|isbn=9780801880896 }}</ref>

=== Early ski lifts ===
The first surface lift was built in 1908 by German [[Robert Winterhalder]] in [[Schollach (Germany)|Schollach]]/[[Eisenbach]], [[Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald|Hochschwarzwald]] and started operations February 14, 1908.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hochschwarzwald.de/Eisenbach/1.-Skilift-der-Welt-in-Schollach-entdecken|title=Hochschwarzwald.de: 1. Skilift der Welt in Schollach entdecken (German)|website=hochschwarzwald.de}}</ref> 

A steam-powered toboggan tow, {{convert|950|ft}} in length, was built in [[Truckee, California]], in 1910.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Richards|first1=Gordon|title=HILLTOP WINTER SPORTS AREA HISTORY|url=http://truckeehistory.org/historyArticles/history34.htm|website=Truckee Donner Historical Society, Inc|access-date=16 September 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203041504/http://truckeehistory.org/historyArticles/history34.htm|archive-date=3 December 2010}}</ref> The first skier-specific tow in North America was apparently installed in 1933 by Alec Foster at [[Prévost, Quebec|Shawbridge]] in the [[Laurentides|Laurentians]] outside [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]].<ref>[http://skiinghistory.org/history/timeline-important-ski-history-dates ISHA resources] ''Timeline of Important Ski History Dates''</ref>

The modern J-bar and T-bar mechanism was invented in 1934 by the Swiss engineer Ernst Constam,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Constam, Ernst|url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/articles/031325/2015-02-11/|access-date=2021-03-20|website=hls-dhs-dss.ch|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Espacenet – AT145894B Schleppseilanlage für Skiläufer und Fußgänger.|url=https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/004402110/publication/AT145894B?q=AT145894B|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-20|website=European Patent Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107012128/https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/004402110/publication/AT145894B?q=AT145894B |archive-date=2021-11-07 }}</ref> with the first lift installed in [[Davos|Davos, Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The oldest ski lift in the world|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/going-up_the-oldest-ski-lift-in-the-world/41246122|access-date=2021-03-20|website=SWI swissinfo.ch|date=9 February 2015 |language=en}}</ref> 

The first chairlift was developed by [[James Michael Curran|James Curran]] in 1936. The co-owner of the [[Union Pacific Railroad]], [[William Averell Harriman]] owned America's first ski resort, [[Sun Valley, Idaho]]. He asked his design office to tackle the problem of lifting skiers to the top of the resort. Curran, a Union Pacific bridge designer, adapted a cable hoist he had designed for loading bananas in [[Honduras]] to create the first [[ski lift]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/magazine/who-made-that-ski-lift.html |title=Who Made That Ski Lift |newspaper=New York Times |date=February 21, 2014 |last=Engber |first=Daniel}}</ref>

=== More recent developments ===
More recent developments are being classified under the type of track that their design is based upon.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} After the success of this operation, several other projects were initiated in [[New Zealand]] and [[Chicago]]. The social climate around pollution is allowing for a shift from cars back to the utilization of cable transport due to their advantages.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oitaf.org/Kongress%202017/Referate/Marocchi%20Andrea.pdf |title=A new approach to urban transportation by cable |publisher=oitaf.org |access-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710010213/http://www.oitaf.org/Kongress%202017/Referate/Marocchi%20Andrea.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, for many years they were a niche form of transportation used primarily in difficult-to-operate conditions for cars (such as on ski slopes as lifts). Now that cable transport projects are on the increase, the social effects are beginning to become more significant.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sss10.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SSS10_Proceedings_131.pdf |title=Significant Social Effects |access-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511092239/http://www.sss10.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SSS10_Proceedings_131.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2018 the highest 3S cablecar has been inaugurated in [[Zermatt]], [[Switzerland]] after more than two years of construction. This cablecar is also called the "Matterhorn Glacier ride" and it allows passengers to reach the top of the [[Klein Matterhorn]] mountain (3883m)<ref>{{cite web |title=highest 3S cablecar |url=https://www.zermatt.ch/en/Media/Media-corner/Press-releases/The-world-s-highest-3S-cableway-is-officially-inaugurated |website=Zermatt Matterhorn |publisher=Zermatt |access-date=8 October 2018 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009052655/https://www.zermatt.ch/en/Media/Media-corner/Press-releases/The-world-s-highest-3S-cableway-is-officially-inaugurated |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Urban cableways ==
Urban cable transport encompasses all transport systems that use cables to pull vehicles around cities. The gondola or cableway type is spreading relatively quickly in South American urban environments, following the success of Medellín's Metrocable around 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Le metrocable de Medellin : pilote de la mobilité de demain ? |url=https://www.demainlaville.com/le-metrocable-de-medellin-pilote-de-la-mobilite-de-demain/ |website=Demain La Ville - Bouygues Immobilier |date=2020-10-20}}</ref><ref name="10.1080/01441647.2023.2294752">{{cite journal |last1=Cardona-Urrea |first1=Santiago |last2=and Ettema |first2=Dick |title=Aerial cable cars as a transit mode: a review of technological advances, service area characteristics, and societal impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean |journal=Transport Reviews |date=3 May 2024 |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=684–708 |doi=10.1080/01441647.2023.2294752 |issn=0144-1647}}</ref><ref name="bbc20190103">{{cite news |title=The rise of the urban cable car |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190103-the-rise-of-the-urban-cable-car |access-date=6 April 2025 |work=www.bbc.com |date=4 January 2019}}</ref><ref name="smithsonianmagParks"/> As of 2023, 33 aerial cable cars (ACC) transit lines were inaugurated in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the majority after 2010.<ref name="10.1080/01441647.2023.2294752"/> There are also three recent installations in [[Algeria]] in [[Tlemcen]], [[Skikda]] and [[Constantine Cable Car|Constantine]]. Urban cable cars are a relatively old concept – the [[Grenoble-Bastille cable car|Bastille cable car]] in [[Grenoble]], France went into service in 1934<ref>{{cite web |language=fr |title=Téléphérique de la Bastille : "les bulles" |url=https://www.grenoble-patrimoine.fr/element/105/595-telepherique-de-la-bastille-les-bulles.htm |website=www.grenoble-patrimoine.fr}}</ref> and the [[Sugarloaf Cable Car]]s in [[Rio de Janeiro]] in 1912 and 1913,<ref>{{cite web |language=fr |title=Téléphérique (bicâble) à va-et-vient (TPH V) du Pain de Sucre 1 & 2 - www.remontees-mecaniques.net |url=https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/ |website=www.remontees-mecaniques.net }}</ref> although the purpose of these installations is not to transport city dwellers in the narrow sense, but to serve as a tourist site. The majority of installations were built to overcome specific geographical challenges,<ref name="bbc20190103"/> such as for river crossings, access to islands, major urban breaks (motorway, railway, large industrial site) or steep gradients.

Urban cable cars often have advantages such as [[Sustainable urban infrastructure|relatively small environmental footprints]] or less air pollution,<ref name="bbc20190103"/> rapid and less complex construction than other transport infrastructures,<ref name="smithsonianmagParks">{{cite web |last1=Parks |first1=Shoshi |title=Seven Cities in the World Where You Can Ride an Aerial Cable Car |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/seven-cities-in-the-world-where-you-can-ride-an-aerial-cable-car-180985817/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=6 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref> lower cost,<ref name="bbc20190103"/> low [[noise pollution]],<ref name="bbc20190103"/> faster transport,<ref name="bbc20190103"/> a comfortable pleasant view,<ref name="bbc20190103"/><ref name="smithsonianmagParks"/> a pull factor for tourists,<ref name="bbc20190103"/> very little space needs at ground level,<ref name="smithsonianmagParks"/>and lower energy cost per passenger. In Medellin, connecting high-up neighborhoods with the rest of the city through its MetroCable system has helped reduce the city's crime rates.<ref name="bbc20190103"/> Disadvantages can include challenges of poor weather conditions and slower speeds depending on the case.<ref name="smithsonianmagParks"/> 

According to a World Bank study, they typically reach speeds of between 10-20km/h and can carry up to 2,000 people per hour in each direction.<ref name="bbc20190103"/> One line in Bolivia's capital [[La Paz]] carries up to 65,000 people every 24 hours. It has a length of 16km as of 2019 and a one-way ticket costed around $0.42.<ref name="bbc20190103"/> There are [[Urban planning|installations planned]] all over the world that do not necessarily address specific geographical problems – according to The Gondola Project,<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Gondola Project |url=https://www.gondolaproject.com/about/ |website=The Gondola Project |access-date=6 April 2025}}</ref> these include [[Tasmania]], [[Gothenburg]] (Sweden), [[Mombasa]] (Kenya) and [[Chicago]].<ref name="bbc20190103"/>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" style="float:center;">
File:Barcelona August 2014 - Seilbahn de Montjuic 003.jpg|[[Montjuïc Cable Car]], Barcelona
File:London Cable Car (110813-203 CPS 11711627636).jpg|[[London cable car]]
File:Seilbahn Köln.jpg|[[Cologne Cable Car]]
File:14-Teleférico-La-Paz-nX-7.jpg|[[Mi Teleférico]], [[La Paz]]
File:2018_Medellín_,_Metrocable_estación_Villa_Sierra_de_la_Línea_H.jpg|[[Metrocable (Medellín)|Metrocable]], [[Medellín]]
</gallery>

== Social effects ==
[[File:Línea Roja de Mi Teleférico en La Paz, Bolivia.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Mi Teleférico|La Paz cable car system]] in Bolivia is both the longest and highest urban cable car network in the world.|alt=A large long cable car system in Bolivia]]

=== Comparison with other transport types ===
{{original research|section|date=July 2018}}
When compared to trains and cars, the volume of people to transport over time and the start-up cost of the project must be a consideration. In areas with extensive road networks, personal vehicles offer greater flexibility and range. Remote places like mountainous regions and ski slopes may be difficult to link with roads, making cable transport project a much easier approach. A cable transport project system may also need fewer invasive changes to the local environment.

The use of Cable Transport is not limited to such rural locations as skiing resorts; it can be used in urban development areas. Their uses in urban areas include [[funicular]] railways,<ref name="Faulks 1999 p. 66">{{cite book |last=Faulks |first=R.W. |title=International Transport: An Introduction to Current Practices and Future Trends |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8493-4083-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTC2Y56o1W8C&pg=PA66 |access-date=10 July 2018 |page=66}}</ref> [[gondola lift]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oitaf.org/Kongress%202011/Referate/O'Connor%20-%20Dale%2001-2012.pdf |title=Other uses of cable transport |access-date=November 17, 2015 |publisher=oitaf.org |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019170051/http://www.oitaf.org/Kongress%202011/Referate/O%27Connor%20-%20Dale%2001-2012.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[aerial tramway]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://abstracts.aetransport.org/paper/download/id/3618 |title=CABLEWAYS AS URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS |access-date=July 9, 2018 |publisher=aetransport.org |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124159/http://abstracts.aetransport.org/paper/download/id/3618 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Safety ==
According to a study by the technical inspection association [[TÜV SÜD]], for every 100 million hours of travel, there are on average 25 deaths due to car accidents, 16 due to plane accidents and only two due to cable car accidents, most of which are due to passenger behaviour.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240117-what-makes-cable-cars-safe |title=How safe are ski lifts? |date=
18 January 2024 |access-date=19 January 2024 |author=Sophie Hardach |publisher=[[bbc.com]]}}</ref>

=== Accidents ===
* A [[Cavalese cable car disaster (1976)|cable car accident in Cavalese]], Italy, on 9 March 1976 is considered the worst aerial lift accident in history. The car crashed off the rails and fell 200 meters down a mountainside, also crashing through a grassy meadow before coming to a halt. The tragedy caused the death of 43 people, and four lift officials were jailed for charges regarding the accident.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/5177392.stm |title=People injured in cable car crash |date=13 July 2006 |access-date=January 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430151752/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/5177392.stm |archive-date=April 30, 2008}}</ref>
* On April 15, 1978, a cable car at [[Squaw Valley Ski Resort]] in California came off from one of its cables, dropping 75 feet (23&nbsp;m) and violently bouncing up. It collided with a cable which sheared through the car. Four people were killed and 31 injured.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tahoequarterly.com/winter-2014-2015/tram-car-trauma |title=California Cable Car incident |date=27 February 2015 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |publisher=tahoequarterly.com}}</ref>
* The [[Singapore cable car crash]] of 29 January 1983 occurred when a drilling rig passed beneath the cable car system linking the Singapore mainland with [[Sentosa]] island. The derrick of the drilling rig aboard the ship MV ''Eniwetok'' struck the cables, causing two of the gondolas to fall into the sea below. There were 7 fatalities. 
* On February 3, 1998, [[Cavalese cable car disaster (1998)|twenty people died in Cavalese]], Italy, when a [[United States Marine Corps]] [[EA-6B Prowler]] aircraft, while flying too low, against regulations, cut a cable supporting a gondola of an [[aerial tramway]]. Those killed, 19 passengers and one operator, were eight Germans, five Belgians, three Italians, two Poles, one Austrian, and one Dutch.<ref>[http://www.valdifiemme.it/comitato3febbraio/vittime.htm Le Vittime] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007055321/http://www.valdifiemme.it/comitato3febbraio/vittime.htm |date=2007-10-07 }} (list of the names of the victims) by the ''Comitato 3 Febbraio per la giustizia'' (3 February Committee for Justice), from valdifiemme.it {{in lang|it}}</ref> The United States refused to have the four Marines tried under Italian law and later [[court-martial]]ed two of them with minimal charges in their country.
* The [[Kaprun disaster]] was a fire that occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular in Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. The disaster claimed the lives of 155 people, leaving 12 survivors (10 Germans and two Austrians) from the burning train. It is one of the worst cable car accidents in history.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.skimag.com/uncategorized/kaprun-funicular-accident-worst-in-history |title=Worst cable car accident in history |date=January 2000 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |publisher=skimagazine.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3502265.stm |title=Kaprun Disaster |date=19 February 2004 |publisher=BBC.uk |access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref>
* A cable car derailed and crashed to the ground in the Nevis Range, near Fort William, Scotland, on 13 July 2006, seriously injuring all five passengers. Another car on the same rail also slid back down the rails when the crash happened. Following the incident, 50 people were left stranded at the station whilst the staff and aid helped the passengers of the crashed car.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gillan |first1=Audrey |title=Four hurt as cable car derails on Nevis range |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jul/14/travelnews.travel |website=the Guardian |access-date=9 July 2018 |language=en |date=13 July 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Five injured in Highlands cable car accident |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/five-injured-in-highlands-cable-car-accident-1-466758 |publisher=scotsman.com |access-date=9 July 2018 |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709215614/https://www.scotsman.com/news/five-injured-in-highlands-cable-car-accident-1-466758 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* On Wednesday 25 July 2012, passengers of the [[London cable car]] were stuck 90 meters in the air when a power failure caused the gondola to stop over the River Thames. The fault happened at 11:45{{nbsp}}am and lasted for about 30 minutes. No passengers were injured, but this was the first problem to ever hit the London's new cable car link.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/passengers-stranded-90-metres-in-the-air-as-londons-new-cable-car-breaks-down-7976314.html |title=Passengers stranded 90 meters in the air as Londons new cable car breaks down |date=25 July 2012 |publisher=standard.uk |access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-18985455 |title=Emirates Air Line Thames Cable Car breaks down |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2012 |access-date=July 9, 2018 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news |title=Cable cars: Danger in the skies |work=[[BBC News]] |date=June 1, 1999 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/382750.stm |access-date=July 9, 2018}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Cableways}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43T1p4CswYo Melbourne's cable trams] on [[YouTube]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1pjSKNfnG4 San Francisco's Cable Cars & Motor Cars; 1900-1940s – with 1906 Earthquake] on [[YouTube]]
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[[Category:Cable transport| ]]
[[Category:Transport by mode]]
[[Category:Sustainable transport]]