Cities, SI-Urban
Kelheim – Saal Feasibility study for German cable car in discussion
In the whole of Bavaria, Kelheim is one of only two district towns that are not connected to the rail network. However, since the closure of the railway line between Kelheim and Saal in 1998, the town has developed a large number of commuters, such that the transport network is severely overloaded.
To compensate for the infrastructure disadvantage, the plan is now for a cable car to connect Wöhrdplatz in Kelheim to Saal railway station, around five kilometres away. Commuters should therefore be able to commute to and from Kelheim even without a car.
On paper, the project is convincing: commuters will be transported across the Danube at a travel speed of seven metres per second and in a journey time of around 12 minutes. The cable car in Kelheim will therefore be not only the longest but also the fastest in the whole of Germany.
Connection to the local public transport
The planned combination of the new addition with the existing components of Kelheim’s local public transport is also positive: the “Smart City Connection” cable car should connect directly to the bus or, at the Saal end, to the railway. Commuter parking, bicycle storage and the Kelheim shipping and shuttle services should also expand the mobility hub.
Technical Data:
Smart Urban Connection
| Type: | Single-cable circulating track |
| Length: | 5 km |
| Travel Speed: | 7 m/s |
| Journey time: | Approx. 12 Minuten |
| Number of gondolas: | 44 |
| Number of supports: | 21 |
| Frequency: | 36 s |
Funding
The provisional estimate of total costs – as at February 2022 – amounts to 27.6 million euros, of which up to 90 percent will be covered from state subsidies. The town of Kelheim will provide 70 percent and Saal an der Donau will provide 30 percent of the remaining amount.
Delay in the process
Although the addition to the local public transport in Kelheim is actually a top priority, things have recently gone quiet around the project. As reported by Donaukurier newspaper, neither the project tendering nor the planned feasibility study has yet begun.
These will cost a total of 165,000 euros, which will likewise be shared between Kelheim and Saal, after deduction of grant funding. The potential of a cable car linking Kelheim to the railway in neighbouring Saal is huge. Specific project steps now need to follow.
Christian Schweiger
Mayor of Kelheim
“This modern, pioneering form of local public transport will finally reconnect Kelheim to the local public rail transport system. At the same time, a cable car represents probably the most visionary and environmentally friendly form of passenger transport, and it therefore complements the innovative local public transport system in the town of Kelheim. As a town, we immediately found the district authority sympathetic to our proposal to install a cable car as part of the local public transport in the district of Kelheim. I am very pleased that we have finally been able to present this idea to the committees.”
