Austrian Ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr has commissioned the Girnar Ropeway project in Mount Girnar, Gujarat. The project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The company said that Mount Girnar ropeway is the longest temple ropeway in Asia with an inclined length of 2.3kms that can ferry 1000 pilgrims per hour to the revered Ambaji Mata temple located at a height of 1060m above mean sea level in 7.5 minutes. The project owners, Usha Breco, worked in close coordination in helping Doppelmayr.
Mount Girnar is a popular pilgrimage site in Junagadh, Gujarat with the presence of Amba temple, Dattatrey shrine and many other Hindu and Jain temples. The ropeway will transport an estimated 5 to 6 lakh pilgrim every year with anticipated growth year on year. Doppelmayr's first ropeway in India was installed at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and has recorded a ridership of 20.5 lakhs in the first year of its operation itself.
The ropeway will initially operate with 25 cabins including one glass floor cabin providing a breathtaking view as the alignment traverses over the Girnar wildlife sanctuary. It has a vertical rise of 898.4 m with an average gradient of 42.25% making it one of the steepest ropeways in India. It also boasts of one of the longest spans between two towers for a mono cable system, which is a staggering 849.3m.
“This is a landmark ropeway in India adhering to the most stringent global standards for passenger safety which is of paramount importance for transport and guided by strict international norms. This industry has tremendous potential in India and must grow with world-class ropeway systems,” said Vikram Singhal, MD & CEO, Doppelmayr India.
Ropeways are not only a good alternative to roads and tunnels in the hilly areas as they provide round the year connectivity but also as a viable and credible alternative in urban mass transportation.
Doppelmayr said that it has been working with industry, state governments and central government for achieving an alternate solution of environmentally sustainable transport, smart solution for smart mobility for urban and tourism segments.
