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Host: Seilbahnen SchweizTarget not accessible

Switzerland is the land of cable cars. There are 2,400 installations, including ski lifts. Marmi learns more about an innovative industry.

Marmi slips nimbly through the door of the Ropetaxi in Flums. He wants to go up the mountain to get a breath of fresh air. But when he sees the controls, Marmi wonders whether his adventure has already come to an end. Which button should he press? The Ropetaxi is one of the most modern cable cars in the world. You just select your destination and get on board. The gondola makes its way there with no need for changes. Intelligent allocation of passengers determines which gondola you have to board.

This is just one of many innovations in the industry, which employs 18,000 people and generates a turnover of 1.2 billion francs – three quarters of which is generated in the winter. By far the most money (almost one billion francs) was invested in cable cars in Valais between 2001 and 2020, followed by Graubünden (596 million francs). In addition to 1,200 surface and small lifts, Switzerland has a total of 350 chairlifts, 252 small cable cars, 115 reversible aerial tramways and 54 funiculars – the latter run on a fixed track.

Incidentally, the first autonomous gondola lift is in Zermatt. It uses AI and detects faults and hazards which are then rectified by railroad employees. Cable cars are also environmentally friendly. The Neuveville – St-Pierre funicular is powered by the weight of the wastewater it carries. Toggenburg has been home to the first fully solar-powered cable car since 2012. And the Staubern cable car in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley is energy-independent. The energy comes from a battery that is powered by a solar system and braking energy.

Marmi is amazed at all the places you can go on the cable cars. He slips into the next free gondola and sees where it takes him. He enjoys the view of the Alps and thinks of home. But his trip around Switzerland will continue tomorrow.