The ropeway system in the district of Iztapalapa, in the southeast of the metropolitan region of Mexico City, offers residents a better and above all reliable connection to the local public transport.

Equipped with more than 300 10-person gondolas, the “Cablebús 2” ropeway system from LEITNER carries up to 100,000 people per day over a 10.6-kilometre route via seven stations. On the day of its inauguration, the ropeway was in operation from 2.00 pm to 11.00 pm and transported 45,000 people even in this short time.

The two ropeway terminals are respectively connected to “Constitución de 1917” station on underground line 8 and to “Santa Martha” station on underground line A. Passengers therefore have quick access to the underground network.

“With this construction, we have not only made an important and strategic investment in public transport but also completed a project that reduces social inequality,” Mexico City Mayoress Claudia Sheinbaum said at the opening ceremony, which was also attended by LEITNER board member Martin Leitner.

Effects

The ropeway is an important step in the economic, sustainable and social development of Iztapalapa. The new gondola ropeway offers a significantly better link to workplaces, schools and leisure facilities for the residents of the area, which has a population of 1.8 million.

Along the ropeway route, over 70,000 people are employed in shops, businesses etc. and can now get to work more quickly. Furthermore, 4,200 new jobs are planned in Iztapalapa, which will be easier to reach using the new transport system.

The journey time on the route has fallen from 1 hour and 15 minutes to only 36 minutes. Residents of the district have therefore gained not only a fast and reliable connection but also a highly sustainable mode of transport.

The neighbourhood has also been made visually more attractive: on behalf of the city government and district authorities, 40 artists have designed around 100 murals on roofs and façades along the ropeway route.

LEITNER will operate the ropeway for one year together with Mexican partner Alfa Proveedores Contratistas, and 300 people will be employed for operation of the ropeway.

Retrospective

In 2016 LEITNER constructed the five-kilometre “Mexicable” ropeway (also known as “Línea Roja”) in Municipio Ecatepec de Morelos, in the metropolitan region of Mexico City. Since it opened, some 25 million journeys have been recorded to date. The user-friendly operating times extend to 18 hours per day.

Rather than sitting in a traffic jam for 50 minutes, it now takes passengers 19 minutes to get to the public transport that runs into the urban centre of Mexico City.

Outlook

Further ropeways are currently under construction in Ecatepec de Morelos. Here, with “Mexicable 2 – Linea Verde”, LEITNER is already building a second system – which comprises three interconnected ropeways.

On completion, this system will transport over 40,000 users per day to Mexico City from Municipios Ecatepec de Morelos and Tlalnepantla de Baz, additionally contributing to protection of the Zacatenco nature reserves that have to be crossed in the district of Gustavo A. Madero. “Linea Verde” starts at the second station of “Linea Roja” and carries passengers over a distance of 8.5 kilometres in around 300 gondolas; with a total of seven stations, it is therefore perfectly designed for the requirements of a public transport system.

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