Poma: Inauguration of a 2nd cable car line in Santo Domingo

 

The first urban gondola lift in the world to operate at a speed of 7m/s has been designed and built by POMA, and today it welcomes its very first passengers. The monocable runs 4,20km in the air, connecting 4 stations and promoting low-impact transport between the city centre and the suburbs. As part of the city’s intermodal scheme, this new line, interconnected with the metro, will benefit the 400,000 inhabitants of the western zone of the Dominican capital.

 

With the first line opening in 2018, and a third under construction in the north of the country, the government affirms its commitment to transforming public transport. Cable transport is a reliable, fast and ecological solution, while simultaneously favouring social inclusion.

The oldest city in the modern world continues its strategy of developing its public transport network and reinforcing its proposals of low-impact transport solutions, with a 4,20km-long line interconnected with the metro, running at a speed of 7m/s and a flow rate of 4,500 per hour in each direction.

Line 2 of the “Teleferico Santo Domingo” is 4.20 km long, with 4 stations connecting more than 23 districts in the West of the capital. A single ticket to travel across the entire network of the capital will make it possible to take one of the 157 cabins that criss-cross the Dominican sky, and to connect the heart of the capital in the most accessible, fast, reliable and comfortable way possible with this exclusive transport, forgetting car or bus journeys of more than an hour on the traffic-heavy road network.

POMA, a pioneer and world leader in cable transport, has once again offered its savoir-faire and expertise in order to design and build an innovative and sustainable mobility solution in the heart of the city. After 2 years of work, the first passengers have taken to the skies on the fastest urban monocable system in the world !

“With this new cable car line, the aim is to continue generating a city-wide process of transformation and social cohesion, through the provision of safe and dignified public transport, complementing the local mobility proposal, providing an opportunity for access and integration to the historically marginalised sectors of the Los Alcarrizos district. With this cable transport line, together with all the work undertaken to modernise and extend the existing transport network, we expect to see a major mobility transformation  throughout the city of Santiago, across all aspects. Mobility will be more efficient, more ecological, faster, more accessible, and generally more pleasant.” PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LUIS ABINADER

In 2018 Santo Domingo's inhabitants were pioneers in installing the first urban cable car in the Caribbean. The construction of this second ropeway system by POMA, a leader in urban cable transport, further strengthens the international influence of French industrial know-how and the company’s expertise.

POMA is currently working on the construction of a third urban ropeway in Santiago de los Caballeros to support the urban development of the country’s second largest city; the construction began in autumn of 2021. At the heart of the project is low-impact, sustainable mobility accessible to all, including a monorail, bikes, electric buses and a 12-seater gondola lift spanning almost 4km. The Santiago de los Caballeros cable car will be the third POMA line to be built in the Dominican Republic in just 6 years, making ropeway transport the symbol of innovative and ethical mobility for the country’s development.

100% electric, silent and low-carbon, covering a small surface area on the ground, the urban cable car is well-integrated into its surrounding environment, reducing car traffic and the consequent pollution.

With its capacity to overcome obstacles (rivers, steep inclines, railway lines, congested zones…) and its lightweight infrastructure, ropeway transport is a pertinent solution to environmental and mobility issues.

Moreover, the advantage of ropeway transport is that it runs uninterrupted on its own exclusive path, guaranteeing reliability in terms of regularity and journey time.

Thanks to its electric motor, the urban cable car is 30 times less polluting than the car for an equivalent journey. It opens up new ways of getting around, without polluting, in a fast, efficient and pleasant way, offering a unique view of the whole city. In Santo-Domingo, the ropeway is equipped with the latest DirectDrive motor, providing reliable and ecological transport. This POMA technology presents three advantages that are part of a complete eco-responsibility approach: a significant reduction in energy consumption, no oil consumption, and a considerable reduction in noise pollution.

This new cable car line responds to the challenges of urban transport and contributes to economic development and growth. This well-integrated transport system that connects residents to the city will open up large urban areas, providing local residents with easier access to the primary employment-rich zone in the city centre, while avoiding road traffic in the most congested areas of the city. The low-impact, sustainable mobility of cable transport offers a better quality of life for the local population. By connecting the inhabitants directly to employment opportunities and by upgrading public spaces, the authorities intend to give new economic and social impetus to the districts served by the line.