Kaunertal gets new Cable-car for 2019
The two ball-busting t-bars that whisk you up to 3000m+ are to be replaced with a much smoother 100 person cable-car
The new cable-car will start at the glacier restaurant at 2,750 m and ends at the Falginjoch at 3113m and will be pretty much a direct replacement of the old twin t-bars.
Due to the shifting of the glacier, the engineers needed to come up with a new solution, so the new Falginjoch lift has only two supports on the entire 2,000 meter long span between the valley and top stations, whereas the two old tow lifts require a total of 32 supports. Although the cable-car only needs 2 lift stands, it is currently the most wind-stable system on the market. Due to the large track width of 4.6 m and the size of the cabin (25 m²), the cable-car can be put into operation even at higher wind speeds.
They are also set to do some terrain alterations, so the existing blue-piste will be graded to make it even more suitable for beginners, and a separate access from the lift will make it suitable for disabled riders.
Technical details
- 2 lift columns - in between there are 1,500 m free span
- Length of the rope = 8 km
- Power supply via the suspension cable (1 m cable has a weight of 23 kg)
- 4.6 m track width of the cabin
- Speed of the cabin:
- 12 m / s in the free span
- 8 m / s when driving over the support
- Journey time: 3,9 min (every 10 minutes the train will start again at the valley station)