A 11km cable car proposal was announced during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Intercity Cibao bus terminal. Image by PresidencyRD.
The capital of the Dominican Republic has revealed their plans to construct the city’s second urban gondola — the Santo Domingo West Cable Car (Spanish: Teleférico de Santo Domingo Oeste).
Unlike the city’s first Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) line — the Santo Domingo Cable Car (Spanish: Teleférico de Santo Domingo) — this new ropeway proposal would result in the construction of a massive 6-station 3S gondola which would span 11km (6.8mi) and connect three municipalities in the city’s westside (i.e. Los Alcarrizos, Santo Domingo Este and Distrito Nacional).
Effectively, the 3S urban ropeway adds to the recent flurry of transportation projects unveiled in Santo Domingo. Some readers might recall that the city’s current gondola was just inaugurated less than three weeks ago. While the first Santo Domingo Cable Car is an impressive system itself, measuring in at 5km (3.1mi)with 4-stations, the proposed 3S will more than double its length.
Officials informed the public that the six stations will be built at Puente Blanco, the Intercity Cibao transport terminal, Monumental Ave, Manoguayabo and Prolongación Ave, Kilometre 9 and Duarte Highway, and Herrera.
Route alignment for 6-station Santo Domingo West Cable Car delineated in teal while the 4-station Santo Domingo Cable Car is drawn in green. The 3S system is designed to connect to the Maria Montez Metro station on Line 2 (Orange Line) at the 3S’ Kilometre 9 station. Image from Listin Diario.
If the Dominican capital builds their tricable system, it would become the world’s longest 3S gondola — surpassing the current record-holder in Vietnam (7.9km Hon Thom 3S) by more than three kilometres (1.9mi)! Image from Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park.
In comparison to other publicly announced cable transit plans, the only other 3S proposal that would come even close to the size and scale of the Santo Domingo West Cable Car would be the 10km 3S gondola proposed in Istanbul. However, little information about this proposal has been available since it was first publicized in December 2015.
For those still learning the ropes, it’s important to note that 3S gondolas are considered the most advanced cable-driven systems today. With two track ropes and one propulsion rope, 3S gondolas have the highest capacities (up to 6,000 pphpd) and highest wind resistance (>100km/h).
Less than twenty 3S gondolas have been built to date though, with the majority of these systems functioning in ski resorts. As such, if the 11km Santo Domingo West Cable Car was successfully implemented, it could have a massive impact within the urban transport industry. Given the Dominican capital’s proximity to large American and Canadian cities, this 3S gondola could be a major demonstration system for North American transit planners.
Precise specifications for the system will be detailed as technical planning work commences. The President, however, announced that the cable car will be fully integrated with the rest of the city’s transit network and will cost less than US$0.50 (25 pesos). Officials hope that the cable car will benefit upwards of 400,000 residents by the time it opens in 2020.