One of our favourite clients, the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, is undergoing intensive maintenance. The fascinating process involves doing maintenance on both cable cars, and in a very rare occurrence, both cars are at the Lower Cable Station.
It is an exciting time, and even though the Cableway will be closed until August 25, there is a flurry of activity. An 18-strong technical crew, six of them from Switzerland, are ensuring that this year’s maintenance is in line with international requirements.
The Cableway is required to undertake annual maintenance to meet the highest global cableway standards, set by the Swiss Governing Body for Cableways. The Cableway thus closes for two weeks every year for routine maintenance, but every five years the maintenance requirements are more intense.
This year, the main DC (direct current) drive is being replaced with an AC (alternating current) drive. In addition, the mechanism that moves the cable car up and down the track ropes will undergo an overhaul, and the heel rope will be replaced.
Both cable-car cabins were taken off the ropes and placed on custom-built platforms at the Lower Cable Station for the crews to examine and work on them. It is a very rare sight to see both cable cars at the Lower Cable Station at the same time: the cable cars counterbalance each other by operating in tandem.
Technicians removed one car off the cable and replaced it with a counterbalance, which allowed for the safe trip down for the second car.
While the Cableway is closed, Flowstars who work on the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway account continue to ensure people are kept abreast of any happenings, including the maintenance process.
