With an investment of 82 million euros, Toulouse is equipping itself with an urban gondola lift that connects the hospital centers to the university. It is Téléo, a plant designed and built by the Hti Group, which covers a stretch of 3 kilometers connecting the Paul-Sabatier university to the Oncopole research institute, through the Rangueil hospital crossing a hill, crossing the ring road and the Garonne river. A route that can be covered by car in over 30 minutes while in the cabin it takes only 10 minutes. Furthermore, the plant integrates with the local public transport system in a sustainable way.
The plant is built by Poma, a company of the South Tyrolean HTI group, it is in fact the first in Europe to be fully integrated into the local transport system (metro and bus), so much so that management has been entrusted to the same company, Tisséo. «With the construction of the cable car in Toulouse we have achieved another important goal – comments Anton Seeber, president of Hti -. That of creating a cableway system entirely connected to the city’s mobility system in a European metropolis. In fact, we believe that this type of electric transport, which is safe, sustainable and full of advantages, is now fundamental in our urban areas “. The works began in September 2019 and ended in the spring of 2022 after less than three years of construction and with a total investment of 82 million.
The Toulouse plant is the longest urban cableway system in Europe capable of ensuring particularly interesting speeds and frequencies: 8 thousand passengers a day and the passage of a cabin every minute and a half during rush hour. The cable car connects three important poles of the French city: the Oncopole, the renowned cancer research center, the Paul Sabatier University where over 30 thousand students study, passing through the Rangueil hospital which records 210 thousand medical visits a year. A journey that takes just ten minutes at a cruising speed of 20 kilometers per hour. The plant is built by Poma using the consolidated three-wire technology, with two carrying ropes and one pulling, the same already used on the Piccolo Cervino, on the Stubai glacier, in Norway, Voss and Zuhai in China.
A technology that guarantees greater stability even in the face of difficult wind conditions, ensuring operation even at 108 km / hour of wind, a phenomenon that occurs in Toulouse on average for two days a year. In addition, this technology combines performance and comfort, allowing for a harmonious integration into the environment. In fact, only five supports have been installed instead of the winds normally required for a single-rope cable car and the acoustic emission in the vicinity of the supports is reduced to a minimum. Each of the 15 cabins of Téléo can accommodate up to 34 people and belong to the “Symphony” line, a design by Pininfarina, the historic designer of the most famous Made in Italy brands who, in collaboration with the Hti group, has managed to blend technology and aesthetics. and cutting-edge functionality.