The cable car to Ještěd will be longer and have one cabin, the representatives of Liberec have decided

Liberec - The cable car to Ještěd in Liberec will likely have one cabin on two cables and will be extended to the tram terminus in Horní Hanychov. This option was chosen by Liberec city councilors today, with 29 out of 32 councilors voting in favor. The cable car has been out of service since the tragic accident in October 2021; for nearly the previous 90 years, it operated as a pendulum cableway with two cabins. Mayor Jaroslav Zámečník (Mayors for the Liberec Region) expects that, in the most optimistic scenario, the new cable car could be operational from January 2029.

Councilors considered three options for the current and extended route. In addition to the chosen option and the original pendulum system, a circulating cable car with small cabins was also under consideration. For the selected option with one cabin on two cables, nicknamed the tram, 58 percent of respondents in a public survey supported it, in which 1,668 people participated. "The next step will be the preparation of the tender documentation in the form of design and build," said the mayor. Ideally, the construction of the cable car should begin in 2026.

According to an economic analysis that was part of the materials for the councilors, the cable car is expected to transport half a million passengers annually in the first years after it becomes operational. Before the tragic accident, it was a quarter of a million per year. The analysis considers a fare of 400 crowns for a single trip, and 200 crowns for Liberec residents. The return on the investment is expected to be between 13 and 18 years, with a need to invest 720 to 772 million crowns into the cable car from 2026 to 2045. The construction of the cable car itself is estimated to cost between 360 and 440 million crowns. The so-called tram cabin can hold up to 100 people, while the capacity of the cabins for the pendulum operation was 35 seats.

The cable car to Ještěd currently has a length of almost 1.2 kilometers; with the extension to the tram terminus, it will increase by another 770 meters. Although the cable car is currently owned by Czech Railways (ČD), the transport company has already agreed with the city on the price at which it will sell it. Both the city councilors and the board of directors of ČD agreed on a price of 34.976 million crowns. The city council is expected to approve this property transaction at its May meeting.

The cable car has been out of service since the end of October 2021, when one of the two cabins fell after the pulling cable snapped, leading to the death of the conductor. He was alone in the cabin for 35 people. The thirteen passengers in the second cabin were unharmed as it remained suspended on the supporting cable, 15 meters above the ground. The conductor managed to activate the emergency brake and stop the cabin, which had been descending rapidly toward the lower station after the pulling cable broke.