The Guimarães Cable Car or ''Teleferico de Guimarães'', sometimes also known as the Penha Cable Car or ''Teleférico da Penha'', is 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 suppo ...
that connects the city centre of the Portuguese city of
Guimarães
Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga.
Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...
to the summit of the nearby
Monte da Penha
Monte da Penha, or Monte de Santa Catarina, is the highest point in the Portuguese city of Guimarães, with a height of above mean sea level. The hill provides a panoramic view of the centre of Guimarães, and is accessible by road and by the G ...
, the location of the . Both the lift and the destination provide a panoramic view of the centre of Guimarães.
The line was built by the French company
Pomagalski
Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peopl ...
and is operated by the local company Turipenha. The line opened on 24 June 1995, and was the first
cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems:
* Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable
** Aerial tramway
** Chairlift
** Gondola lift
*** ...
to operate in Portugal. It is in length, is supported on 14 pylons, and there is a height difference between the two stations.
[
The cable car is equipped with thirty-two passenger cabins, each with a capacity of six passengers, and eight hybrid cabins, with a capacity of three passengers and three bicycles, for use by bikers who use the slopes that descend from the top of the mountain to the city. The line has a maximum speed of , but normally operates at . Travel time is 7 minutes 40 seconds, and the line can carry up to 1,000 passengers per hour.][
]
See also
*List of gondola lifts
This article is a List of gondola lifts around the world. A gondola lift has cabins suspended from a continuously circulating cable whereas aerial trams simply shuttle back and forth on cables. (Both are cable cars, and both are aerial lifts whi ...
References
Gondola lifts in Portugal
Guimarães
1995 establishments in Portugal
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