From what we can piece together, Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) systems in Algeria began in the mid-1950’s with the construction of the Téléphérique d’El Madania in the capital Algiers. This system was then followed in 1982 by the Téléphérique Notre-Dame d’Afrique – again in Algiers. Five years later in 1987, two more Téléphériques would be...
Of all the Urban Gondolas / Téléphériques / Télécabines in Algeria, perhaps the most exciting right now is the Bouzareah Télécabine. The reason is fourfold: ONE – This system is actually under construction and has been for at least the last year. That suggests it should be nearing completion any time now. TWO –...
Check out the following three news reports on the Tlemcen, Skikda and Constantine Télécabines (in that particular order): (Of note: In the first video – Tlemcen – we get a really great sense of how the three stations fit within the surrounding urban fabric. In the second video – Skikda – we get a really...
One of the challenges urban gondola transit and cable propelled transit must overcome is the issue of nomenclature. This is something we talk about a fair bit here at The Gondola Project (here, here and here, for example) and it appears to have contributed to some of our own confusion about the Algerian Gondolas. Let...
As we declared last week, this week is going to be dedicated to unravelling some of the mystery surrounding Algeria’s rapidly expanding Urban Gondola plans. Algerian cities have many topographical challenges and it appears that the government has renewed it’s interest in ropeway technology as a means to combat those challenges. The challenge for us,...
A quick look at some of the things that makes air pollution in your city tolerable (or not): Percentage Americans living in cities with breathing air that’s dangerous to their health: 50 Number of top 10 most polluted cities in US located in California: 8 Most polluted American city: Bakersfield Number of premature deaths due...
A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit: Inhabitat is reporting that a group called Green Gondola Campaign plans to reduce the Telluride Gondola’s electricity usage by 20% through the installation of a series of solar panels throughout the surrounding mountains. Could the cable industry be taking...
The Algerian Gondolas have been something of a black box to The Gondola Project. We know they exist. We’ve seen pictures of them and we keep hearing more are planned. Beyond that, we know virtually nothing about them and still can’t seem to find a reliable way to gather intelligence and research on them. Then...
Here’s a question: Why is it that the stations for bottom-supported cable car systems are almost never staffed with attendants whereas aerial systems always are? This is something that just occurred to me the other day and I have no answer for it. Thoughts?
Last week a German paraglider crashed into the cables of a Bavarian gondola. The incident trapped 20 people in the gondola for 17 hours overnight. There were no injuries or fatalities and all parties were rescued via helicopter. Does this mean gondolas are unsafe? No. It means accidents happen. For example: During the Christmas season...