Mexico City's future cable car: A 'dignified' way to commute

Founded more than 126 years ago, Austria’s Doppelmayr is one of the largest cable car companies in the world. Due to the growth of the public transport mode in Latin America during recent years, the region has become a major market for the company.

At the end of June, Doppelmayr was awarded the contract to build line No. 1 of Cablebús, the first public transport cable car line in Mexico City.

BNamericas spoke with Konstantinos Panagiotou, head of Doppelmayr Mexico, to learn more about the project.

BNamericas: What does the awarding of the contract mean for Doppelmayr's strategy and plans in Mexico?

Panagiotou: The Latin American market is very important for the company due to the growth of cable cars for public transport. Mexico, in particular, is very significant for Doppelmayr. Since 2005 we have an office in Mexico and several projects operating today in the country. Being awarded a project like this is fundamental for the company and for public transport in the city.

BNamericas: Your company was one of only four in the world that the government of Mexico City and the United Nations Office for Project Services [UNOPS] considered have the necessary experience to build a project like Cablebús, and that's why they sent a restricted invitation to participate in the second tender for the project. What are the competitive advantages offered by Doppelmayr compared to the other companies that showed interest in the project?

Panagiotou: Doppelmayr is the largest cable car manufacturer in the world. With 126 years of existence, the company has operations in more than 96 countries and representation in more than 45. Today we have more than 15,000 installations operating, and the quality of Doppelmayr equipment is internationally recognized. We have approximately 65-67% of the international market, and the fact that a company of this type operates in Mexico City provides security to the government that the project will be successful, both in the electromechanical and technical part, as well as the financial, economic and structural aspects.

BNamericas: What benefits do you think a cable car system like Cablebús will bring to Mexico City?

Panagiotou: It will help a lot to improve the quality of life of the people in the areas where the Cablebús lines will be built, since it will reduce travel times between home and work. In addition, the system offers greater safety and security against assaults on public transport, which is a situation that unfortunately is experienced in many large cities such as the capital. Another benefit is the comfort offered by the system. The line is planned to seat up to 10 passengers per cabin, and no more can be admitted. It is a dignified form of transport, where everyone has their space.

BNamericas: Could you share more technical details of line No. 1?

Panagiotou: The route is 9.4km with a central line of 7.4km and a branch of close to 2km. The capacity is 4,000 people per hour in each direction, approximately 160,000-170,000 passengers per day. It will be the first cable car in Latin America that will use the D-Line system, the most advanced technology of Doppelmayr in terms of cable cars. It is an improved technology, has more than 120 innovations, and about 40 new patents. Unlike other systems, the noise is lower at stations because it’s designed for cities. The speed is up to 7m/s.

The cabin is 22cm wider than others, which makes it more comfortable. The design is very attractive, very modern and urban. This is the system of the times and is already used in other parts of the world such as Switzerland, Austria, United States and Canada. Its technology means it consumes less electricity, offers a higher level of system availability, and requires less maintenance.

BNamericas: Why did you decide to partner with Gami Ingeniería e Instalaciones for the winning proposal and what services will each provide in terms of construction?

Panagiotou: Since we’ve been in Mexico, we’ve worked with many construction companies. This time we were looking for a company with experience in projects for the government and specialized in foundations, particularly deep foundations. We did an investigation and Gami, from the Indi group, was one of the most experienced companies. We needed the best partner to carry out part of the civil works, because the times of this project are very limited, we only have a few months to finish it. If I’m not mistaken, it will be one of the projects of this type with the shortest construction period in the Americas. We needed to be 100% sure that the company that will carry out the civil works had the financial and technical capacity, and the knowhow, to carry out such a project. We didn’t want to have any problems because it’s the first of four projects that the mayor has announced for the city and this has to be the example for the rest.

BNamericas: What were the substantial changes between the proposal you submitted in the first tender [which was declared void, as was the second one before Doppelmayr was awarded the contract directly] and the one that was selected as the winner of the contract?

Panagiotou: Cable cars are tailor made, like cars, where each one shares certain similar characteristics, and their differences are the comfort offered. Doppelmayr is very interested in Mexico City, because it’s one of the largest metropolises in the world, with high traffic. We want to show that cable cars are useful for public transport and that is why it’s very important for us to be in Mexico City. So, in our first proposal we included all the best gadgets that exist in terms of cable cars and we offered much more than what the bidding rules requested. This made our price higher than required.

For the second proposal we removed some gadgets that don’t influence either the capacity or modernity, or safety, of the system. They were extra things, it was nice to have them but they weren’t absolutely necessary. That was the difference. We also talked with our partner and found ways to lower the price.

BNamericas: Do you have established dates yet?

Panagiotou: The contract will be signed soon. The day after the signing, we’ll start to work on the system’s engineering. This is tailor made, because you have to do all the engineering of the electromechanical part. This type of work takes a couple of months and is done by specialized engineers in Austria, based on information on the topography and the soil mechanics. A part of this engineering will then be given to our partner so they begin to carry out the civil works, which will start in about three or four months after the signing, and after seven or eight months the parts of the cable car will start arriving in Mexico from Austria. The contract is for 538 days. We plan to have the line operating in December 2020.

BNamericas: What services does your company offer in Mexico and what other projects have you carried out in the country?

Panagiotou: Although the country office was established in 2005, the first tourist cable car that a company that was later acquired by Doppelmayr built dates back to 1968 in Taxco. In 1972, Garaventa, a Doppelmayr brand, built another tourist cable car in Zacatecas. We have also built tourist cable cars in Barrancas del Cobre, Chihuahua, in the Grutas García [caves] in Nuevo León, and in Parral, Chihuahua. We also built the electromechanical part of the monorail that connects terminals 1 and 2 of Mexico City airport.

The services we offer are everything to do with cable transportation systems – funiculars, people-mover trains that travel short distances, cable cars and chair lifts.

At a mine near Iguala, in Guerrero, we operate a RopeCon system, which is a conveyor belt for materials, the only one of its kind that can reach up to 30km and can move up to 40,000t per hour.

In the case of the first line of Cablebús, according to the contract we’ll operate it during the first year, which is the time required to transfer the know-how to the city government so it can operate and maintain the line after that.

BNamericas: What are your short and medium-term plans in Mexico?

Panagiotou: In the short term, we’re interested in participating in the tenders for the construction of the second, third and fourth lines of Cablebús. Another project that interests us is a new public transport cable car line in Edomex [Mexico state].

There are many cities interested in using these systems, either for tourism or public transport. We believe that Mexico is a country that offers many long-term opportunities, because many of its cities have severe traffic problems. We want the first Cablebús line to serve as an example for future projects in other cities in the country.

BNamericas: Do you think that having been awarded line No. 1 will give you competitive advantages in the tenders for the other three Cablebús lines?

Panagiotou: The information we have is that line No. 2 will be built in Iztapalapa. We’re waiting for the regulatory body to provide more information about the tender, such as the dates and if it will be public or by invitation.

Considering what happened in the process to award line 1, we believe the government of Mexico City will be very careful with the other tenders. This process was accompanied by UNOPS, which certified the quality of the process. The first auction was declared void due to the big difference in prices between the offers, while the second one suffered the same fate, since only two offers were submitted, when by law tenders involving restricted invitations must have three solid offers. So I don’t think we're going to have advantages because we were awarded the first contract, but we want to participate, and like any company, we also want to win. We’ll be very attentive to comply with all the requirements of the tender and not repeat the error of our first offer.