Leitner: Two new ropeways set new standards for modern urban mobility in Mexico

Investment in urban ropeways is continuing apace globally. In Mexico, the ropeway manufacturer LEITNER has been inextricably linked to the expansion of sustainable mobility systems since its success story there began in 2016. The company is currently responsible for the construction of two new facilities in the cities of Morelia and Naucalpan. Thanks to these projects, the ropeway network already built by LEITNER in Mexico, will grow by an additional 15 kilometres to a total of 40 kilometres by 2026. The rise in the number of ropeways in major urban centres contributes significantly to increasing the quality of public transport and improving the local quality of life in the long term.

Work on one of the ropeways with six stations started in Morelia back in autumn 2024. The UNESCO World Heritage City with a population of about one million people is located 250 kilometres west of Mexico City in the state of Michoacán. The two lines of the "Teléferico Morelia" branch off from the main station near the city centre. The first line with two intermediate stations runs north-west to the bus station near the stadium. The second line runs south and with one intermediate station, connects the university campus and the zoo. The €90-million project is scheduled for completion by autumn 2026 and will eventually be used by around 20,000 people per day. A further 1.6-kilometre extension of the Morelia ropeway has already been announced.

A second, 9.6-kilometre-long ropeway will be built in Naucalpan in the greater Mexico City area by autumn 2026. The €200 million investment will consist of three lines with ten stations and will be a sustainable addition to public transport in this part of the city. In the future, around 380 cabins will transport millions of people every year, raising the importance of ropeways as part of Mexico's urban mobility infrastructure to a new level. The new "Mexicable - Línea 3" will open up a commuter belt of around 700,000 people, as a daily means of transport and reduce the journey time from currently over an hour to 27 minutes. It is forecast to serve around 40,000 passengers a day.

"The two new projects in Mexico are another milestone for LEITNER and the expansion of urban ropeway mobility. With the new facilities, we can offer the people of Morelia and  

Naucalpan a modern and environmentally friendly mobility solution that will make daily life easier and strengthen the regions in the long term. It is an investment in the future of both cities," says Giacomo Trattenero, project manager at LEITNER.

The success story of urban ropeways in Mexico began in 2016. That was when LEITNER's first facility in the Mexico City metropolitan region went into operation. The almost five-kilometre-long "Mexicable 1 - Línea Roja" in the municipality of Ecatepec de Morelos consists of two ropeways running north-east and back then marked the start of an extensive expansion programme. Five years later, the Cablebús 2 was opened. The almost eleven-kilometre-long ropeway facility in the district of Iztapalapa, in the south-east of the Mexico City metropolitan region, now offers commuters a better, and above all safer and faster connection to local public transport.

The next project was the "Mexicable 2 - Línea Verde", which starts at the second station of the GD10 "Mexicable 1 - Línea Roja". With around 300 cabins and seven stations it transports passengers to the Indios Verdes metro station along three interconnected ropeways over a distance of 8.5 kilometres. Together, the Mexicable lines 1 and 2 have served over 65 million passengers so far. A total of seven LEITNER facilities with an overall length of 24 kilometres were already in operation by the end of 2022. This rapid development is now continuing with the two current major projects.