The Port Vell Aerial Tramway ( ca, Telefèric del Port or Aeri del Port, es, Teleférico del Puerto) is 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 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It crosses Port Vell, Barcelona's old harbour, connecting the Montjuïc hill with the seaside suburb of Barceloneta. The aerial tramway first opened in 1931 and is principally a tourist attraction, used on account of its excellent views of the city and its port. It is operated by ''Teleféricos de Barcelona S.A.'' and is not part of

Autoritat del Transport Metropolità The Metropolitan Transport Authority ( ca, Autoritat del Transport Metropolità, ATM) is a public consortium intended to coordinate the operation and project the expansion of the public transport system in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is m ...

(ATM) integrated fare network. Separate tickets must be purchased prior to boarding. The aerial tramway should not be confused with the

Montjuïc Cable Car Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...

, a

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 ...

that links the upper terminus of the

Montjuïc funicular Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montju� ...

with Montjuïc Castle.

Route

The tramway starts at ''Miramar'' station halfway down the hill of Montjuïc at an altitude of , passes through the peak of Torre Jaume I which is high and ends at the top of Torre Sant Sebastià at , from where an elevator descends to the streets of Barceloneta. The ride offers a fine view over Barcelona, the nearby ''Plaça del Portal de la Pau'' with the Columbus Monument, Port Vell with its Balearic ferries and the World Trade Centre, and Barceloneta with its Mediterranean beaches. The tower Torre Jaume I was the world's highest aerial lift pylon until 1966, when the

Glacial Aerial Tramway Kaprun III The Glacial Aerial Tramway Kaprun III (Gletscherbahn Kaprun III) is the third section of the aerial tramway on the Kitzsteinhorn mountain at Kaprun, Austria. It was placed in service on 26 November 1966. It is currently branded Gipfelbahn (Gi ...

opened.

History

The tramway was intended to be an attraction at the

1929 Barcelona International Exposition The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (also 1929 Barcelona Universal Exposition, or Expo 1929, officially in Spanish: ''Exposición Internacional de Barcelona 1929'' was the second World Fair to be held in Barcelona, the first one being i ...

, a

World's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. The ''Air Rail San Sebastian-Miramar, S.A.'' was incorporated and obtained the royal licence to build and operate the tramway. The manager of the project was ''Juan Rodriguez Roda''. The towers were designed by the architect

Carles Buigas Carles () is a common Catalan given name of Germanic origin, which also appears as a surname. The English language equivalent is Charles. The name Carles can refer to: People *Carles (name) Places *Carles, Iloilo, a 2nd class municipality in t ...

and built by ''Material para Ferrocarriles y Construcciones S.A.''. The tramway was built by Bleichert, at that time a company with a worldwide reputation, which had just completed the

Aeri de Montserrat The Aeri de Montserrat () is an aerial cable car which provides one of the means of access to the Montserrat mountain and abbey. It can be found 1 hour from the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Travelers using the cable car should take no ...

. However, the size of the project was underestimated and the tramway did not open until 12 September 1931. Initially, the tramway consisted of two sections with two cars each. The cabins travelled from the terminal stations to Torre Jaume I and back, with one haul rope for the total length to move all four cabins. All hopes for a commercial success of the venture were annihilated in the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

(1936–1939). Torre Jaume I was used as a look-out and a machine gun post. The tramway was heavily damaged and reduced to the rusting towers. One of the two surviving cabins was transferred to ''Aeri de Montserrat'', which started to operate again in 1940. There were discussions to demolish the installation completely. Eventually, ''Friedrich Gründel'', Bleichert's chief engineer during construction, succeeded in establishing ''Teleféricos de Barcelona, S.A.''. In 1960, Torre Sebastià reopened with a new restaurant at its top, followed two years later by Torre Jaume I. In 1963 the tramway reopened with only two cabins, which travelled along the total length and through the top of Torre Jaume I. After Gründel's death ownership changed several times, commercial returns diminished and the technical status deteriorated. The authorities had decided to close it, when, in 1996, Barcelona decided to redevelop Port Vell and to build the World Trade Centre. The tramway was also renovated and it reopened in 2000.

Technical details

The line is long, with sections of and . The original cabins, which are still in use, take 20 passengers each plus the cabin attendant, and have an empty weight of . The tramway was built by Bleichert on the ''Bleichert-Zuegg'' system with track ropes of and a haul rope of . There was also an auxiliary rope of for a small open service vehicle, which could be used to evacuate the cabins. The cable speed is , driven by an electric motor in ''Miramar'' station, with tension weights in the ''Torre Sant Sebastià''.

Tower names

''Jaume I'' is the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

name of James I of Aragon (1208–1276),

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre ...

and

Count of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

. ''Sant Sebastià'' is the Catalan name of

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the ...

, the Spanish town where in 1907,

Leonardo Torres Quevedo Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (; 28 December 1852 – 18 December 1936) was a Spanish civil engineer and mathematician of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Torres was a pioneer in the development of the radio control and automated ...

had opened his first public aerial tramway on Monte Ulia.

References

External links

*
Official web site of the aerial tramway
{{coord, 41, 22, 20, N, 2, 10, 48.5, E, display=title Aerial lifts in Catalonia Aerial tramways Transport in Barcelona Aerial tramways in Spain 1931 establishments in Spain