Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik. Image by Steven Dale
Over the last year, the capital of Turkey, Ankara has quietly built and opened a three-section urban gondola system that is perhaps the most important since Medellin, Colombia’s Metrocable Linea K. Built by Leitner, the Yenimahalle Teleferik (as it is known to the locals) may not be as long a system as the new Mi Teleferico lines in La Paz, Bolivia, but it is nevertheless a game-changer and is deserving of more attention than it’s received.
Length, as they say, isn’t everything.
I had the opportunity to tour the Yenimahalle Teleferik this past August and it is so completely unique in its station designs and configurations it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen at Gondola Project. That’s why we’re dedicating all of our posts this week to profiling the Ankara Cable Car / Yenimahalle Teleferik.
Starting tomorrow we’ll dive into the standard details of system capacity, length, speed, etc. but will move quickly onto discussions about what makes the system’s stations and towers so unique (both good and bad) and what lessons can be taken from them.
We’ll then wrap up with a discussion of what Yenimahalle’s legacy within the industry will be — or at least what I think it should be.
If I’m right, the Yenimahalle Teleferik will be seen as a dramatic leap forward in how cities think about integrating urban gondola systems into the urban fabric. The way the stations play with all dimensions of the urban environment is, as I said before, completely original and excitingly so. There are innovative designs and special considerations that need to be discussed, dissected and appreciated.
Tune in all week to learn about this fascinating system. If you like urban gondolas, public transit or just cool things in cities, this is one you’re not going to want to miss.
See you tomorrow!
ANKARA SERIES