The construction of a 8-passenger gondola in the Mexican city of Torreón is now underway.
Being built by LEITNER Ropeways, this recreational cable car will transport passengers and pilgrims to the top of Noas Hill where a 22m high statue of Christ (Cristo de las Noas) stands.
Cristo de Las Noas tourist site. Image by LEITNER Ropeway.
The Christ statue, 3rd biggest in Latin America, took 10 years to construct and is one of the city’s most popular attractions. It is estimated that just over the Easter weekend, the site is visited by more than 30,000 people.
Instead of an exhausting uphill trek in a hot, dry desert climate, passengers will be able to hop onboard a comfortable cable car. The aerial lift will be complemented with site improvements which includes a mountain bike route and a park.
Christ statue. Image from LEITNER Ropeways.
Traveling at speeds of 5 m/s, the 1.5km ropeway will take riders from the middle of Torreón to the top in just 5 minutes. Built at an initial capacity of 375 pphpd, the system can be expanded to 750 pphpd in the future.
This installation is the third aerial lift built by LEITNER Ropeways in Mexico. It is currently also building the country’s first urban gondola in Ecatepec.
The Torreón Cable Car is estimated to cost 160 million pesos (US ~$9.2 million) and is scheduled for completion by October 2016.