The airport of Marseille is to be better connected. © Airport Marseille

SI Urban 1/2024, Urban

Marseille: Take the cable car to the airport

The plan for a cable car link from Marseille airport to Vitrolles station has been on the drawing board for some time. Three years ago, the city commissioned a feasibility study, which showed that the cable car could be implemented.

Johanna Janisch

7. February 2024

With a departure every six minutes, the new cable car, estimated to have a capacity of 1,000 passengers and a travel time of six minutes, is set to be operational by 2027.

In addition to creating 30,000 jobs, the French city of Marseille aims to provide a fast and traffic-independent connection for its nine million travelers.

Currently, only 20 percent of these travelers prefer public transportation to the airport. One-tenth of them take the train, while the majority use the bus.

With the cable car, the travel time to the airport would be reduced to under 30 minutes, equivalent to the bus travel time, which depends on traffic conditions.

This results in irregular intervals between shuttle trips, leaving travelers waiting at the terminal for up to 20 minutes. Additionally, the city’s buses often get stuck in the congested streets.

Travelers currently take around 35 minutes to walk from Vitrolles station to the terminal, which is far from an attractive connection, especially with luggage. The cable car is expected to change that.

The mayor of Vitrolles, Loïc Gachon, hopes that the cable car will help shift traffic from the roads to the cable and rail systems, making public transportation to the airport more attractive.

Martine Vassal

President of the Métropole d’Aix-Marseille-Provence

“The cable car is a reliable alternative to the car. We start at St. Charles Station and drive to Vitrolle Station. There we get on the cable car and take it to the airport parking lot. Currently, the connections do not go any further than Vitrolles station. Getting to the airport from there is not convenient. The cable car will change that.”

Direct Connection to the Terminals

The system will start at Gare Vamp. With a total of three stations, one of the intermediate stops will be located near the premises of the industrial company Airbus Helicopters, benefiting over 12,000 employees.

The facility is the largest employer in the region. From this intermediate station, the cable car will continue to the airport parking lot, providing direct access to the terminals. The city of Marseille expects the facility to transport 3,600 passengers daily.

One Station

is located at Airbus Helicopters.

Support from the Municipality

The estimated cost of the cable car project is 31 million euros. The Municipality of Marseille is expected to finance around 80 percent of it. The airport will contribute three million euros to the project costs.

Airbus Helicopters is also financially supporting the project with three million euros. Industrial director Laurent Vergely points out that the annual costs for a private shuttle to the company amount to the same sum.

The station is planned to be located in the company’s parking lot, providing employees with more convenient access to their workplace.

Obstacles for the Project?

The project has already overcome two hurdles: budgeting is complete, and the feasibility study yielded positive results.

Nevertheless, there are critics of this project as well: they only see the benefits of the cable car when paired with a more frequent train connection from Vitrolles-AéroportMarseille-Provence station.

Construction for the new cable car is expected to start in 2025.