MTT presents the route and stations of the cable car project in Talcahuano

Press release from the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

A cable car system with two lines, seven stations and 204 cabins with a capacity of up to 10 passengers each was presented in Talcahuano by the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications (s), Jorge Daza, who together with the presidential delegate of the Biobío region, Eduardo Pacheco, the mayor Roberto Pino and the regional minister of Biobío, Héctor Silva, met with the community to announce the results of the pre-feasibility study of the project, which aims to connect the center with the different hills of the port commune.

The initiative would represent an investment of 130 billion pesos and would be 4.2 kilometers long, allowing a 55% reduction in travel times during peak hours tomorrow, thanks to its speed of up to 22 kilometers per hour.

Specifically, the project aims to link Plaza El Ancla with the most populated areas in the Los Cerros sector, such as Cornou, Centinela II, Mirador del Pacífico, Nueva Los Lobos and Los Lobos.

In this sense, the project aims to provide better and greater connectivity to one of the most isolated residential areas, improving the quality of life of nearly 35 thousand people, around a quarter of the population of Talcahuano.

“Improving the quality of life for everyone and having modern, safe and sustainable public transport systems in the regions is our priority as a Government. For this reason, we are very pleased to present the layout and stations of what would be the future cable car of Talcahuano, because it allows us to take a key step and a clear signal that we are moving forward with a project that not only seeks to improve mobility from the hills, but also to develop commerce and services in the areas surrounding the stations,” said the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications (s), Jorge Daza.

The pre-feasibility study of the initiative used as input the various citizen participation meetings that took place over three long days in the different sectors of Los Cerros.

The Mayor of Talcahuano, Roberto Pino, stressed that this initiative “is a participatory project and that gives a good signal, because it shows that the opinion of the community is taken into account and that is appreciated by the government, at the municipal level, the Regional Government and all the actors who have participated, especially the neighbors.”

The regional presidential delegate, Eduardo Pacheco, said that “here we see an alternative with a very good technical level, we see how the opinion of the neighbors is effectively included. But in the case of the stations that are planned in this place, not only the connectivity will be important, but also the economic development of bringing services to these places.”

Features of the cable car system

The cable car system would operate on two lines. The first would be 2.9 kilometers long, from the center of Talcahuano to the Mirador del Pacífico sector, with a journey time of 11 minutes, and three intermediate stations at Cerro Cornou, La Antenas and Centinela II.

The second line would be extended by 1.3 kilometres, connecting with the first at Las Antenas station and extending to Los Lobos in a 5-minute journey time. It also includes an intermediate station located at Nueva Los Lobos.

This mode of transport would have 204 cabins in total, each with a capacity of 10 seated passengers. In addition, it would have top-level technology, considering a wiring system that can withstand the adverse weather conditions typical of the area. Meanwhile, the stations would have universal accessibility.

The project is estimated to have a demand of 28,000 passengers on a working day, reaching a capacity of 9.6 million passengers per year.

This cable car system would also operate in an integrated manner with the Biotren, allowing passengers to continue their journey from the Los Cerros sector to the rest of Greater Concepción.