Mountain high cable car system to link Bolivian cities of La Paz and El Alto
- 10 years ago
Building a transport system in the mountains of Bolivia was always going to demand superlatives. And so it is with what is the biggest project of its kind in the world.
It will link La Paz the highest capital in the world up there in the thin air of the Andes at 3,640 metres with El Alto.
Work has just begun putting in place the cables of the huge towers for a transport system with the first route due to start running in March. When another two are completed by August 18,000 people an hour will glide between La Paz and El Alto.
Vertigo will hardly be an option.
The view from on high will include the daily scene of the roads where bus journeys of just a few kilometres can take up to an hour and heavy traffic clogs up the narrow and steep streets.
There will be no queues in the sky.
An Austrian company is bringing the transport relief to the commuters of La Paz and El Alto at a cost of 172 million euros.
The three separate lines will stretch across a combined 10.7 kilometre area of the city.
Over 400 gondolas will woosh through 11 stations at speeds of 18 kilometres an hour, beating geography and the traffic below.
It will link La Paz the highest capital in the world up there in the thin air of the Andes at 3,640 metres with El Alto.
Work has just begun putting in place the cables of the huge towers for a transport system with the first route due to start running in March. When another two are completed by August 18,000 people an hour will glide between La Paz and El Alto.
Vertigo will hardly be an option.
The view from on high will include the daily scene of the roads where bus journeys of just a few kilometres can take up to an hour and heavy traffic clogs up the narrow and steep streets.
There will be no queues in the sky.
An Austrian company is bringing the transport relief to the commuters of La Paz and El Alto at a cost of 172 million euros.
The three separate lines will stretch across a combined 10.7 kilometre area of the city.
Over 400 gondolas will woosh through 11 stations at speeds of 18 kilometres an hour, beating geography and the traffic below.