If you live in the national capital and have often been bothered by the perennial traffic congestion while travelling to and from the Indira Gandhi International Airport or even Gurugram, how about easing the journey by taking a ride on an aerial ropeway to reach your destination?
At the Ropeway Symposium & Expo ’24 held in New Delhi in January, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari made a pitch for such a ropeway transport system between Delhi and Gurugram, even all the way up to Manesar, since he said he himself uses that stretch and gets stuck quite often, as per reports.
Even though the minister later clarified that the Delhi-Gurugram ropeway system was “just an idea” that he shared and there was “nothing on paper yet”, ropeways figure prominently on the government’s agenda.
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At the ropeway symposium, Gadkari announced that the Centre is all set to undertake over 200 projects in the next five years, with a total estimated cost of Rs 1.25 trillion, as part of the National Ropeways Development Programme, also known as the ‘Parvatmala Pariyojana’. The minister highlighted the potential of ropeways not only in promoting tourism in hilly areas but also as a viable option for urban public transport. He also urged the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to foster the development of a robust ropeway network across the country.
On a high
Ropeways, traditionally synonymous with mountain tourism, are now gaining traction as urban mobility solutions due to their efficiency in navigating challenging terrains and reducing congestion. “The rapid implementation, minimal disruption during construction, and lower operational costs make aerial ropeways practical in urban settings. Despite initial investments, their long-term cost-effectiveness, coupled with lower environmental impact, positions them competitively against traditional transport modes,” says Syed Junaid Altaf, promoter and group executive director of FIL Group, a Rs 400-crore enterprise with diverse business interests, including sustainable mobility and tourism infrastructure.
“In addition to ropeways becoming symbols of progressive development, today the emphasis is on responsible tourism and green urban mobility which also aligns with global sustainability goals. Collaborations with leading global brands and strategic partnerships further enhance the technological aspects of ropeway projects,” adds Altaf.
With an investment exceeding Rs 875 crore, FIL Group is on a mission to redefine sustainable mobility through state-of-the-art ropeway projects. The company is currently working on India’s longest ropeway (5.5 km) connecting Dehradun and Mussoorie. The Rs 300-crore mono-cable ropeway project is expected to reduce travel time from 1.5 hours to a mere 15 minutes. Phase 1 of the first-of-its-kind ropeway—built for both tourism and urban mobility—is expected to be completed by September 2026.
The project also envisions integrated infrastructure development, including hospitality, food and beverages as well as retail facilities, which will boost the local economies of both Dehradun and Mussoorie.
FIL Group has also commenced work on the 3.8-km Yamunotri Ropeway, which will connect Janki Chatti and Yamunotri Dham in Uttarakhand. As of now, pilgrims and priests on the Char Dham Yatra have to make their way to the Yamunotri temple—the first stop-over on the route, located at an altitude of 10,797 feet (3,291 metres)—through a steep climb of 5 km. All that will change with the completion of the ropeway project that is expected to cut down travel time from five hours to just 10-15 minutes, as per reports.
“Mountainous terrains, like those in Himachal Pradesh or Jammu and Kashmir, could greatly benefit from aerial ropeways, addressing accessibility issues and fostering economic growth through tourism,” explains Altaf, adding: “The calculated impact of our upcoming Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway highlights its potential as a transformative urban mobility solution intertwined with sustainable tourism. Such projects are highly needed in various geographies with similar challenges and opportunities.”
Upper hand
The urban ropeway concept apparently started in South America, especially in cities like La Paz in Bolivia and Medellin in Colombia. These ropeways have multiple stops en route (so that a bigger catchment area is served) and can have turns in their path, unlike the traditional ropeways which run between two points (usually religious places or inaccessible areas) and are usually straight or tilting slightly in their path.
“These are practical solutions to streets having moderate traffic loads but having heavy congestion, as these systems can be raised over the towers, which have a very small footprint than the other systems such as elevated BRTS, light trams or metros. Even the ropeway stations have small footprints of 25 m x 25 m on an average,” says Rajneesh Porwal, senior vice-president of Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC), which develops sustainable urban mobility methods and solutions.
UMTC is a joint venture company of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) and the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “It deals in consulting and hand-holding support services in all spectrums of transport, leaving perhaps the pipelines,” adds Porwal.
Metropolitan cities facing severe traffic congestion could leverage developing aerial ropeways to provide efficient and eco-friendly transportation options, offers Altaf of FIL Group. “Moreover, several regions with significant religious or cultural attractions stand to gain by integrating world-class ropeway infrastructure to ease pilgrimage, boost tourism and contribute to economic development,” he says.
“In essence, ropeways have the potential to redefine connectivity and sustainable development across diverse landscapes, easing mobility, promoting economic prosperity and environmental responsibility,” offers Altaf, whose company plans to invest in four to six projects over the next four to five years. “We hope that by 2030, we will be able to carry 6-7 million passengers on all of the ropeways developed by us,” he adds.
Ropeways consume very little road/ urban space, are environment-friendly, silent and economical, as per Porwal of UMTC. “The limitation is that the carrying capacity is not more than 6,000-8,000 passengers in peak hour, peak direction traffic. Also, ropeways move at the speed of about 20-24 km/hour, which is slow compared to other public transport modes. Ropeway operations are dependent on wind speeds, which, if higher than 60km/hour, halt the operations,” he says.
The traditional ropeways in India are observed to have costs ranging from `8 crore to `25 crore per km. “However, the ones being built now, with European (CEN) safety standards, will have a cost of `40 crore to `100 crore per km. Ropeways are slightly costlier than bus systems, but are much cheaper than light trams or metros,” adds Porwal, whose company has done several projects involving ropeways so far, including the ‘techno-economic feasibility report of cable car as public transport for Gangtok’ for the Government of Sikkim, the ‘techno-economic feasibility report of cable car as public transport’ for MoHUA, and the ‘traffic modelling and traffic forecasts for three ropeway corridors in and near Hyderabad’ for the Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation (IPRCL), among others.
Urban connect
India’s first urban ropeway project is coming up in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. Called Kashi Ropeway, it will be 3.75 km long with five stations connecting Varanasi Cantonment railway station to Godowlia Chowk. It is expected to open in May next year.
Kashi Ropeway is expected to transport 96,000 passengers per day. It will have a maximum capacity of 3,000 passengers per hour per direction. It will have 153 cars with capacity of 10 passengers each. It will operate 16 hours a day and will complete the trip in 16 minutes, as per reports.
Incidentally, Kashi Ropeway is also the world’s third urban public transport ropeway behind Bolivia’s Mi Teleferico and Mexico City’s Mexicable.
Opened in 2014, the Mi Teleferico system consists of monocable aerial cable car lines. Most lines have a maximum capacity of 3,000 passengers per hour, while one of them—the sky blue line—has a capacity of 4,000 passengers per hour. The network has a total of seven lines, with 443 cars on the red, green and yellow lines, 208 on the blue, 127 on the orange, 131 on the white, and 155 on the sky blue line. Each car seats 10 passengers. Cars depart every 12 seconds, and the network is open 17 hours a day.
Meanwhile, Mexicable is 4.8 km long and runs between San Andres de la Canada (in the Sierra de Guadalupe) and Vía Morelos (in Ecatepec), through five intermediate stations. It reduces the travelling time between those points to 17 minutes, down from the hour-long commutes between the same points using ground transportation.
The Mexicable operates 184 cars, each with a capacity of 10 passengers. The predicted capacity is 3,000 passengers per hour for each line and 29,000 passengers per day, with a fare of 9 pesos (approximately Rs 44), as of July 2020.
Safety issues
On April 10, 2022, three people lost their lives at Trikut Hills, around 20 km from the temple town of Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district, after a ropeway malfunction resulted in trolleys colliding with each other. All the other 60 tourists, trapped in cable cars midway, were later safely evacuated following a 46-hour-long rescue operation.
That was not the first time a ropeway was involved in an accident. On June 25, 2017, four members of a Delhi family and three tourist guides were reportedly killed when a cable car came crashing down after a ropeway snapped midair in the ski resort town of Gulmarg.
A couple of years later, two workers were reportedly killed and four others suffered injuries after a cable car of the under-construction Jammu ropeway project crashed during a mock drill on January 20, 2019.
These incidents, though rare, lead some to question, “How safe are ropeway systems?” Very safe, say industry observers. “The mishaps have happened in the old ropeway systems with pathetic safety norms and no standard safety protocols. The modern ropeways with CEN safety standards have very low accident /fatality rates. The modern ropeways are all IT sensor-enabled and the multiple levels of checks ensure high levels of safety,” says Porwal of UMTC.
Instances like the one in Jharkhand in 2022 emphasise the paramount importance of robust safety measures and effective rescue protocols in aerial ropeway systems, says Altaf of FIL Group. “It is imperative for the sustained well-being of passengers and the communities we serve that we uphold and continually enhance safety standards,” he says.
“Our approach includes rigorous adherence to CEN safety standards, encompassing over 200 safety checks every day, implementation of a world-class emergency evacuation process, and regular safety audits,” Altaf adds.
These are international safety standards which FIL Group has incorporated as an essential part of its operations. “However, now that India is rapidly establishing ropeways as a mode of= transportation it is imperative for the government to establish a stringent oversight mechanism to ensure strict compliance with safety and rescue norms for all aerial ropeway operators. Only through collaborative efforts between operators, commuters, and authorities can mishaps be effectively avoided or minimised,” says Altaf.
Kashi ropeway
- Under construction in Varanasi, UP
- To be first public transport ropeway of India
- To be 3.75 km long with 5 stations
- To connect Varanasi Cantonment railway station with Godowlia Chowk
- To have 153 cars with capacity of 10 passengers each
- Expected to transport 96,000 passengers per day
- To be constructed at a cost of Rs 645 cr
- Expected to open in May next year
Mexicable
- 4.8 km long, runs between San Andres de la Canada and Vía Morelos in Mexico through five intermediate stations
- Reduces travelling time to 17 minutes, down from hour-long commutes using ground transportation
- 184 cars in operation, each with a capacity of 10 passengers
- Predicted capacity is 3,000 passengers per hour for each line and 29,000 passengers per day
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