The Bursa Uludağ Gondola ( tr, Bursa Teleferik Hattı), or simply ''Teleferik'' as called locally, is an

aerial lift An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''gondolas'', or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables. Aerial lift systems are frequently employ ...

line in

Bursa Province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the nor ...

connecting the city of

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

with the nearby

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

area and national park at Mt. Uludağ. Initially, as an

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

line, it went in service in 1963, and served for fifty years until it was replaced by a modern system of

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...

and extended into a ski resort area. The installation of a new line became unavoidable due to increased demand by tourists.

History

The initial line was an

built by the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

company

Von Roll Holding Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide. It was founded in 1803. As one of Switzerland’s longest-established industrial companies, Von Roll focuses today on products and systems for electrical applications such ...

to enable easy access to the country's biggest ski resort area on Uludağ. Construction work began in 1958 and the line opened on 29 October 1963, the 40th anniversary

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

. The base station is situated at Teferrüç neighborhood of Yıldırım district in southern Bursa. The long line served two stations at Uludağ, Kadıyayla and Sarıalan Yaylası. Two 20-seater cabins transported hourly 120 passengers. The service of aerial tramway ceased on 29 October 2013, after fifty years, to make way for a modern and higher capacity aerial lift system.

New aerial lift

The new aerial lift line was designed, and all the technical equipment was delivered by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

company Leitner Ropeways on a

build–operate–transfer Build–operate–transfer (BOT) or build–own–operate–transfer (BOOT) is a form of project delivery method, usually for large-scale infrastructure projects, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the public sector (or the priva ...

financing base for a lease period of 30 years. The stations were designed by Yamaç Korfalı from Bursa, who had worked with the renowned Iraqi-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The transportation of material and the support towers to the difficult accessible areas in the national park was done by an

aerial crane An aerial crane or flying crane is a helicopter used to lift heavy or awkward loads. As aerial cranes, helicopters carry loads connected to long cables or slings in order to place heavy equipment when other methods are not available or economically ...

Heliswiss Heliswiss AG is a Swiss helicopter company with headquarters on the property of Bern Airport in Belp, Switzerland, near Bern. History Heliswiss - the oldest helicopter company in Switzerland - was founded as „Heliswiss Schweizerische Helikop ...

. The construction works were carried out by Bursa Teleferik Company. The new line is long using the existing line of , and extending it to the area of Oteller as the end station, where hotels are situated. In the past, the hotels and the ski areas could be reached only by taxi or bus after arriving at the end station in Sarıalan Yaylası. There are a total of 45 support towers between the end stations. 174 eight-seater gondola-type carriers are capable of transporting 1,500 passengers hourly between Teferrüç Station at and the end station Oteller at an altitude of . There are also

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

cabins with four seats. The capacity of the new line is more than 10-times of the old one. The journey between the end stations takes 22 minutes. As such, it is the world's longest

line. The opening, initially planned to take place on 29 October 2013, the 90th anniversary Republic Day, was postponed due to delay in construction works of a new bigger station building in Sarıalan Yaylası caused by a court order. * Teferrüç, Bursa: * Kadıyayla, Uludağ: * Sarıalan Yaylası, Uludağ: * Oteller, Uludağ:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bursa Uludag Gondola Transport in Bursa Aerial tramways in Turkey 1963 establishments in Turkey Transport infrastructure completed in 1963 2013 establishments in Turkey Transport infrastructure completed in 2013 Tourist attractions in Bursa

History

New aerial lift

See also

References