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Apr 01, 2016
3S, Infrastructure, Innovations, Technologies, Thoughts

The Irony of Cable Car Pranks on April Fools

For those who haven’t noticed yet, it’s April Fools today. Of course, this means that a few media outlets have gone to great lengths to have a little fun and punk their audiences. For gondolas, we’ve found two great stories so far: 1) A “green-lit” water-crossing cable car for the Isle of Wight, UK; and 2) A city-wide...

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Jan 16, 2012
Aerial Trams, Installations, Public Transit, Technologies, Yoshino Ropeway

Yoshino Ropeway – World’s First CPT?

Gondola Project largely began because we noticed that there was a lack of accurate online educational resources on cable technology. Over these past years, we’ve helped a lot people from all backgrounds learn more about CPT systems by separating fact from fiction. As we know, despite our best efforts, a gap still exists within cable...

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Aug 12, 2011
Gondola Project Forum, Innovations, Just For Fun, Oddities, Technologies, Thoughts

FORUM FRIDAYS: Gondolas to the Moon?

This week on the Gondola Project forum, in response to last week’s post about the future of aerial transit, there was a video response with the Jetson’s theme song displaying the idea of personalized flying mobiles. This got me thinking about both science fiction and outer space (since everything in that show appears to be...

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Jul 21, 2011
Engineering, High Speed Rail, High Speed Rail, Innovations, Technologies

High Speed Rail in China – Lessons for the cable industry? (Part 2)

Yesterday’s post High Speed Rail in China – Theft or Innovation? (Part 1) looked at ownership of ideas and innovation, specifically in terms of China’s role in the the advancement of HSR technologies. Following that train of thought (couldn’t help myself!) today I’ll look at what this means for the CPT industry, starting the discussion...

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May 31, 2011
Technologies

Urban Gondola Transit as Minivan?

Advancements in 3S and MDG technology have largely eliminated the need for Funitel and BDG technologies. If you’re considering a Funitel, you might as well go with a 3S. The 3S is faster, with higher potential capacity and reasonably similar capital costs. A 3S also doesn’t incur the high energy consumption cost that’s typical of...

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Jun 26, 2010
Funifor, Technologies

Aerial Technologies, Lesson 8: Funifor

The last aerial cable technology worth mentioning is the Funifor. Like the 3S, Funifors are very rare beasts. Only around a half dozen exist, and are all located in northern Italy (for whatever strange reason). In essence, the Funifor is nothing more than a fusion of a Funitel and an Aerial Tram. It’s dual grip...

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Jan 15, 2010
Analysis, Case Studies, Hybrids, Innsbruck, Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn, Installations, Technologies, Urban Planning & Design

The Hungerburgbahn (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of a 3 Part series of posts on the Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn. To read Part 1, click here and to read Part 3, click here. Leaving the technology-side of things until tomorrow’s post, let’s talk about the Hungerburgbahn’s station configuration. A common misconception about cable transit is that the stations are large...

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Jan 14, 2010
Analysis, Case Studies, Hybrids, Innsbruck, Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn, Installations, Technologies, Urban Planning & Design

The Hungerburgbahn (Part 1)

Last month I toured the Hungerburgbahn CPT system in Innsbruck, Austria. There is much to say about this system, so I’ve broken the column into 3 parts. This is Part 1. The importance of the Hungerburgbahn in Innsbruck, Austria cannot be overstated.  Given its unique Hybrid Funicular technology and elegant organic station design by renowned...

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