1. Proven technology, top-level reliability

The ropeway family is characterized by the use of a motive force external to the vehicles, driving them by means of at least one rope. They include ground-based systems such as funicular railways, which run on a continuous infrastructure guided by rails or tracks, and aerial systems, more commonly known as cableways or teleporters. In the latter case, the cable plays a second role: it not only pulls the vehicle, but also supports it. This eminently safe role (any cable breakage would have dramatic consequences) changes the way the public, as well as elected representatives and technicians, perceive ropeways, and has led manufacturers to propose technical solutions that drastically limit the risks. Tractor and carrier cables can be dissociated, or both functions can be performed by a single cable, in this case called a "carrier-tractor". Our focus will be on overhead systems, as funicular...