Koblenz cable car

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Koblenz cable car
Koblenz cable car logo.svg
Location: Koblenz , Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate 
Mountains: Ehrenbreitstein
Overall length: 890 m
Height difference: 112 m
Cable car type: 3S train
Valley station: 50 ° 21 '42.7 "  N , 7 ° 36' 18.4"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 21 '42.7 "  N , 7 ° 36' 18.4"  E
Mountain station: 50 ° 22 ′ 2 "  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 54.5"  E
journey
Duration : 5 (4) minutes
Speed : 16 (20) km / h
Transport performance : 6000 (7600) people / h
background
Owner : Doppelmayr Group
Opening: July 2, 2010
Contact: seilbahn-koblenz.de
Aerial view of the Koblenz cable car
View from a cabin of Koblenz
Video: Descent with a view of Koblenz 2011
Valley station of the cable car
Mountain station of the cable car
View from a cabin of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
The inside of a cabin
A cabin in detail: the two suspension ropes and the pull rope between them are clearly visible

The Koblenz cable car , also known as the Buga cable car or Rheinseilbahn , is an aerial cableway across the Rhine in Koblenz . It was built as an attraction and environmentally friendly transport link to the 2011 Federal Garden Show . The cable car since June 2010, joins the Rhine plants equal to the Basilica of St. Kastor with the plateau in front of the fortress Ehrenbreitstein . It is Germany's first tricable gondola and has the highest performance in the world with a transport capacity of 7600 people per hour (3800 people per hour and direction) . Their construction costs were around twelve million euros. With the approval of UNESCO , the cable car can be operated until the end of its technically longest possible service life in 2026. The operator responsible is Skyglide Event Deutschland GmbH from Lindau (Lake Constance) , a wholly-owned subsidiary of the manufacturer Doppelmayr , for which the Koblenz cable car serves as a demonstration system.

history

Planning

For the 1957 Federal Horticultural Show , the Cologne cable car was built, which connects the exhibition grounds, the Rheinpark , with the bank on the left bank of the Rhine near the Cologne Zoo and the Cologne Flora . When planning the 2011 Federal Horticultural Show, Koblenz faced the same problem of how to connect the widely spaced core areas on the left bank of the Rhine and on the Ehrenbreitstein . A bus connection or a cable car over the Rhine were up for debate. Decisive for the construction of a cable car was its positive ecological balance compared to a bus transfer of the visitors. Various routes were also discussed, but in the end it was decided to go for the direct route up to the fortress plateau.

In November 2008, the decision was made to have the cable car built by the Austrian company Doppelmayr. The concession agreement stipulated that the company would build, operate and dismantle the cable car in November 2013. The dismantling after three years was originally considered necessary in order not to endanger the UNESCO World Heritage status of the " Upper Middle Rhine Valley Cultural Landscape ". The citizens' initiative Pro Seilbahn endeavored to maintain the cable car beyond the planned dismantling date, also because of its ecological balance.

Construction from 2009 to 2010

Construction began on April 15, 2009 when the first trees were felled. Environmentalists criticized the necessary tree felling in the Rhine facilities in Koblenz. However, these were replaced in a ratio of one to three. The two stations including the cable car supports were completed by December 2009. Work on the rope hoist began on January 26, 2010. A helicopter led the first nylon rope from the mountain station into the valley. Four days later, the first two steel lead ropes were brought across the Rhine by means of a floating pontoon and stretched between the two stations. In the following weeks these were replaced by thicker ropes. The first cabins were installed in May 2010 on the pull rope that had been drawn up by then . The cable car was completed in June 2010 and officially inaugurated on July 2, 2010 with the participation of the then Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Kurt Beck and Koblenz's Lord Mayor Joachim Hofmann-Göttig . From July 4, 2010, public transport began for around three months. In the first month of operation, 50,000 passengers were already using the cable car, and by the end of the first public service at the beginning of October 2010 there were almost 180,000 passengers. Regular operations began with the opening of the Federal Garden Show on April 15, 2011.

Continued operation

In April 2011 it was announced that the city of Koblenz was negotiating with Doppelmayr to operate the Koblenz cable car for five years. Permanent operation is also conceivable, but dependent on negotiations with UNESCO. On the part of UNESCO, it was announced on the 7th UNESCO World Heritage Day in June 2011 that the Koblenz cable car was and could remain compatible with the world heritage. After negotiations with the City of Koblenz at the end of 2012, the operator Doppelmayr is interested in further operation of the cable car. Criticism of continued operation came in November 2012 from the diocese of Trier , fearing that the St. Castor basilica would be impaired. The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress could be optimally accessed for the first time with the cable car, which is also recognized by UNESCO.

Representatives of the International Council for the Preservation of Monuments ICOMOS visited the cable car on site in December 2012 to assess its compatibility with the world heritage. A representative survey of 500 Koblenz citizens at the end of 2012 showed that almost 90 percent are in favor of continued operation. In May 2013, the city of Koblenz changed the land use plan and thus approved continued use for an initial two years. The long-term goal was to operate by 2025.

At the beginning of June 2013, the ICOMOS report was announced, in which they demanded the immediate dismantling of the cable car. Above all, the ICOMOS experts criticized the fact that the valley station interfered with the historical visual relationship between the St. Kastor Basilica and the Middle Rhine Valley. This result caused horror in the Koblenz region and culminated in a demonstration in Koblenz on June 14, 2013. In addition, over 100,000 signatures were collected for the continued existence of the cable car.

UNESCO decided on June 19, 2013 at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh to allow operation until 2026. The technically longest possible service life ends this year. This decision, which was surprising for everyone, came after representatives of the federal government campaigned for preservation at the meeting of the World Heritage Committee, which was supported by countries such as France , Colombia , Mali , Senegal , Serbia and Switzerland .

For the city of Koblenz and the operator of the cable car, the decision by UNESCO means planning security and for the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress an expansion of cultural activities. Since only a four-year operation was planned, the operator had to adapt the infrastructure around the cable car to the now possible continuous operation. For this purpose, the temporary ticket booths were replaced by permanent buildings that can be used all year round. At the mountain station, a parking station for twelve cabins and an overhaul parking lot including a warehouse were planned, but this has not yet been built. In 2013 the Koblenz cable car carried around 650,000 people. On June 5, 2015, the ten millionth ride on the Koblenz cable car was carried out.

and display information about the image
The Koblenz cable car with a view of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

Technical specifications

The three cable orbit overcomes with a total length of 890 meters using freely tensioned over the Rhine ropes 112 meters in altitude between the two stations. There is a cable car support directly at each station , the free span between the two supports is 850 meters. In normal operation, it reaches a speed of 16 km / h, i.e. 4.5 m / s, and with 18 cabins for 35 passengers each can transport around 3000 people per hour in each direction. With a maximum capacity of 7600 people per hour in both directions together, it is the world's leading aerial cableway. The travel speed can be increased up to 5.5 m / s. The glazed panorama cabins offer a wide view of the Middle Rhine Valley and commute between the two stations in four to five minutes. The cable car is driven by an electric motor with an output of 956 kilowatts / 1300 hp, which is operated with green electricity .

The energy requirement per person- kilometer and the associated CO 2 emissions depend on the occupancy. According to a publication by Doppelmayr, 1046 MWh of energy were required for the cable car during the Federal Horticultural Show.

The detachable cabins travel in each direction on two permanently installed suspension ropes, each 54 millimeters thick and 17 tons, and are moved by an evenly circulating, endlessly spliced ​​haul rope . In the stations, they are automatically uncoupled from the pull rope and slowed down to get off. There they drive around the curve to the boarding area, hanging on rails. After the passengers have entered, the car is accelerated, reconnected to the pull rope and driven onto the two suspension ropes in the opposite direction.

The cabins were built by CWA Constructions based in Olten , Switzerland . Cabin number 17 was equipped with a glass table with a view downwards, cabin number 18 is intended as an example for future cable cars in local public transport and has been equipped with a special seating arrangement and interior as well as an information system. The cabins, including the running gear, weigh 3.5 tons each.

Storms do not pose an increased risk for this type of cable car. Since the cabins are on two suspension cables, they have a high level of wind stability. From a wind speed of 80 km / h ( storm ), however, operations are stopped for safety reasons. As the rapidly gathering storm of August 26, 2011 showed, during which operations could no longer be stopped in time, even peak wind speeds of 147 km / h ( hurricane force ) had no effect on operations. In the event of a malfunction, four emergency drive motors ensure that all cabins can still drive to a station (evacuation concept).

The cable car in the film

Others

In March 2015, the Playmobil collectors Gudula and Thorsten Osterhoff recreated the Koblenz cable car as a Playmobil model for the exhibition " 40 Years of Playmobil - An Adventure Journey through Time " in the Koblenz State Museum .

See also

literature

  • Documentation for the Federal Garden Show 2011 in Koblenz
    • Volume 1: City in Transition: The Middle Rhine region is preparing. Garwain, Koblenz 2011, ISBN 978-3-936436-19-8
    • Volume 2: We were there: strategists, doers, clubs, people. Garwain, Koblenz 2011, ISBN 978-3-936436-20-4
    • Volume 3: What remains ?: Changes and sustainability in the Middle Rhine region. Garwain, Koblenz 2012, ISBN 978-3-936436-21-1

Web links

Commons : Seilbahn Koblenz  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Doppelmayr is building one of the largest cable cars in Europe over the Rhine to the Buga in Koblenz. Rhein-Zeitung , November 27, 2008, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Initiative wants to keep the Buga cable car in the long term. Rhein-Zeitung, January 26, 2010, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Ingo Schneider: Is the cable car permanent? CDU City Council Group Koblenz, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Helicopter brings rope for BUGA cable car. Rhein-Zeitung, January 26, 2010, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  5. ↑ The greatest! Koblenz's Buga cable car now gondolas over the Rhine. Rhein-Zeitung, July 2, 2010, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  6. ↑ 50,000 ride the new Rhine cable car. Rhein-Zeitung, August 4, 2010, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Koblenz pre-BuGa cable car season ends with around 180,000 passengers. Buga Koblenz 2011, October 4, 2010, accessed on November 17, 2014 ( excerpt from the wording and images of the press release of the Federal Garden Show Koblenz 2011 on the Mayor's website).
  8. ↑ Buga cable car may not have to give way in 2013 after all. Rhein-Zeitung, April 8, 2011, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  9. ↑ Unesco: Buga cable car does not damage world heritage. Rhein-Zeitung, June 6, 2011, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Koblenz cable car should remain: Application submitted to Unesco. Rhein-Zeitung, November 11, 2012, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Koblenz worries about the cable car: the expert was there - Unesco is expected to deal with the topic in June. Rhein-Zeitung, December 18, 2012, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  12. ^ Koblenz: Rheinseilbahn at the Deutsches Eck can run for another two years. Rhein-Zeitung, May 14, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Cable car shock: Unesco paper outraged Koblenz. Rhein-Zeitung, June 8, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  14. ^ Deutsches Eck: Around 3500 people protested for the maintenance of the cable car in Koblenz. Rhein-Zeitung, June 13, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage: The cable car in Koblenz may run to Ehrenbreitstein until 2026. Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz , June 18, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  16. ↑ Oliver Georgi: Rhein-Seilbahn can stay until 2026. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , June 19, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  17. ↑ Cable car in Koblenz will be upgraded for operation until 2026. Rhein-Zeitung, August 28, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  18. ↑ One year after the demo: Hundreds of thousands take the cable car. Rhein-Zeitung, June 14, 2014, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Koblenz cable car celebrates trip number 10,000,000 and takes stock. in: Rhein-Zeitung , July 5, 2015
  20. ↑ All about the cable car: Numbers about the cable car. seilbahn-koblenz.de, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  21. ↑ Largest cable car in Germany opened. Doppelmayr cable cars, archived from the original on September 14, 2010 ; Retrieved November 17, 2014 .
  22. ↑ Data and facts Buga cable car Koblenz. (PDF; 109 kB) architekten24.de, accessed on November 17, 2014 .
  23. ↑ Mobility Concept Federal Garden Show Koblenz 2011 ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , P. 20, accessed on July 24, 2015 (pdf, 4.0 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.klimabuendnis.org
  24. ^ After the accident in Cologne: Koblenz cable car gives the all-clear. Rhein-Zeitung, October 22, 2014, accessed on November 17, 2014 .