Pec pod Sněžkou has a loan for a new cable car, there is nothing preventing the construction now

Pec pod Sněžkou (Trutnovsko) - The town of Pec pod Sněžkou has managed to secure a loan for the construction of a new cable car to Sněžka, and nothing now stands in the way of the project. ČTK was informed today by Mayor Alan Tomášek. Construction will begin in the spring. The upper section of the over 60-year-old cable car will stop operating on May 13, and the lower section will cease service on September 2. The new cable car, which will have cabins instead of seats, is expected to start operating in spring 2014.
     The loan will be provided to the town by Komerční banka. For the ongoing financing of the construction, the town will be able to draw up to 170 million Czech crowns, and after the completion of the construction, the loan will convert into a long-term loan of up to 90 million Czech crowns. Securing the loan was not easy for the town. The first tender for loan providers was canceled last year because no one applied. In the repeated competition, the municipality simplified the conditions, and Komerční banka was the only bidder.
     The loan will have an interest rate of 4.37 percent and the town will repay it over 20 years. "What is important is that the interest rate is fixed throughout the repayment period. The loan conditions are better than we expected," said Tomášek. The annual total repayment is expected to be around 6.3 million Czech crowns, and the town will cover it solely from future revenues of the cable car. "We had a limit for the annual repayment of eight million crowns," said the mayor, noting that the loan will not affect the town’s regular financing or other investments.
     The new cable car is expected, according to the winning bid, to cost 299 million Czech crowns excluding VAT, of which approximately 70 percent will be covered by subsidies from EU funds. The construction is being carried out by the firm BAK Trutnov in association with the Italian cable car company Leitner.
     Although the construction officially began with preparatory work in September, the start of work on the cable car has been postponed from October to this spring. This was due to the discovery of an electrical cable in the route of the new bases for the poles in the lower section, which was supposed to be located elsewhere according to the documentation.
     Currently, there is up to about 1.5 meters of snow in some places along the cable car route. "It looks like the onset of spring will be quick, and the snow will melt fast. The demolition of the upper section and supports will begin," said the mayor. According to cable car chief Jiří Martinec, this winter has not been particularly snowy. "In Pec, hydrants are already visible, and it is permanently above zero. Sněžka should be snow-free by May," Martinec estimated.
     From April 12 to 27, according to him, the cable car will undergo its final regular inspection and maintenance. "The last ride to the top of Sněžka will be on May 13, and the last ride to Růžová hora will be on September 2. After that, people will only be able to reach Sněžka on foot," Martinec said.
     The new cable car will feature more comfortable four-seat cabins instead of the existing open two-passenger seats. The hourly capacity of the cable car will remain at 250 people. The ride to the top is expected to be reduced from the current 25 minutes to about 16 minutes due to the higher speed of the new cable car. The cable car will also be better able to withstand the wind.
     The entire construction of the new cable car will be very challenging due to the location and local climatic conditions, particularly strong winds. Most of the route is in sloped and hard-to-access terrain, additionally in a strictly protected area of Krkonošsko National Park. As a result, builders will often use helicopters.

Cable car operation to Sněžka in 2012:

April 11, 2012	End of operation for the winter season
April 12 to 27, 2012	Regular maintenance, cable car out of operation
April 28, 2012	Start of operation for the summer season
April 13, 2012	End of operation for the upper section from Růžová hora to Sněžka
April 2, 2012	End of operation for the lower section from Pec pod Sněžkou to Růžová hora
Spring 2014	Launch of the new cable car