WIR 03/2021 [EN]

24 News from Around the World
A new take on bridge-building:
Urban ropeway for the Paris metropolitan area
With the Câble A, Île-de-France is creating
new connections by using a ropeway as a
means of public transport.
Simply gliding over obstacles – this is a dream
that is about to come true for the residents
of Île-de-France in the metropolitan area of
Paris. Doppelmayr won the contract to build
an urban ropeway solution in April 2021. The
Câble A gondola lift is due to go into service
in 2025. A 4.5-kilometer ropeway connection
with five stations is planned. As a new link in
the public transport system, it will bring together
different metro and bus stops as well
as ensuring better access to local transit offers
for new catchment areas. This will mean time
savings and additional mobility options for the
20,000 inhabitants and 6,000 workplaces in
the connection’s catchment area. Traveling time
between terminals will be just 17 minutes – and
the trip will be entirely unhindered by road congestion.
With its technical features and reliable
operation, the D-Line perfectly fits the bill for
an urban transport application. Consistently
implemented barrier-free access goes without
saying as this is the only way for a gondola lift
to provide top comfort for all passengers in a
public transport setting.
The project is currently in the planning phase.
Building a connection in such a complex
transport network as Paris will require particularly
close collaboration between the experts
in the fields of infrastructure, landscaping,
civil engineering and architecture in the team
centered around the ropeway specialists from
Doppelmayr. The construction work is due to
start in 2023.
Quarry implements pit restoration with
ropeway solution
Reduction in CO 2 emissions thanks to
RopeCon ® system at Bardon Hill Quarry.
Restoring exhausted pits is a major factor in
modern quarrying activities and includes emplacement
of the overburden from the active
quarry to restore the landscape. This is the
solution currently being adopted at Bardon Hill
Quarry, which is one of the UK’s oldest continuously
operated quarries. In order to make this
restoration as eco-friendly as possible, Aggregate
Industries UK Ltd decided in favor of a
RopeCon ® system from Doppelmayr. In future,
a combination of ropeway technology and
conventional conveying technology will transport
the overburden used for restoration within
the quarry in Leicestershire. This solution will
significantly reduce CO 2 emissions and environmental
impact compared with road haulage
or the footprint associated with a conventional
surface conveyor system.
Simultaneous conveying and
emplacement activities
The system spans across the entire pit with
track ropes. The belt, which transports the
overburden, moves on these steel wire track
ropes and the material can be transferred onto
a second belt directly in the rope span. This
second belt is reversible and therefore allows
simultaneous conveying and emplacement
activities. The RopeCon ® system also offers the
ability to control the drop height, which will
minimize the impact of noise and dust during
the system’s operation. The solution is currently
under construction and will be the first such
installation in the UK. It will transport Bardon
Hill’s overburden at rates of up to 1,000 tons
an hour.