March 2022: opening of the first urban gondola lift on Reunion Island monitored by STRMTG

On 15 March 2022, France’s first urban gondola lift opened in Saint-Denis on Reunion Island.
STRMTG assessed and approved this project step by step over a period of 7 years. It was a challenge and a successful experience for STRMTG.
Read on to find out more about this unique and unprecedented project.

The Chaudron – Bois de Nèfles gondola lift in Saint-Denis, Reunion Island is the first urban gondola lift to operate in France.
Another system already exists in mainland France, and there will soon be a second, but they both use different technology.

The STRMTG Savoie office* assessed the project with the support of the STRMTG head office department for cableway installations (DITC). It recommended that the Reunion Island Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL) approve the safety file submitted by the Communauté Intercommunale du Nord de la Réunion (CINOR)** with a view to prefectoral authorisation for commissioning.

Stages in the urban gondola lift project on Reunion Island:

Technical acceptance took place from mid-November to early December 2021, when a large number of dynamic tests were carried out to simulate the weight of passengers in the vehicles.

The aim was to approve the vehicle’s behaviour and braking in all configurations.

A series of static and/or speed tests were then carried out, particularly on the safety of the five stations and the electrical procedure. No less than 168 pages of tests were carried out over a period of almost three weeks, just for the “electrical” portion of the gondola lift.

The Savoie office was there to take part in these tests, to ensure that the overall results were satisfactory. Testing was relatively long, due to the particular nature of this gondola lift, which has five stations, unlike those in the mountain areas where there are usually just two.

It began officially operating on 15 March 2022

This system has a wide range of purposes, including:

• Connecting several key areas of the city, including the Chaudron on the seafront, the university, the regional council offices (Hôtel de Région) and a high school.
• Diversifying transport by offering an alternative to personal vehicle travel
• Improving public transit service in an area where it is sub-optimal, primarily due to the topography.

What’s more, it will operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., 7 days a week.

On the technical side, it has the following main characteristics:

• The route is 2.7 km long and has an elevation gain of just under 300 metres;
• The entire journey takes 14 minutes;
• there are 26 pylons and 5 stations along the line;
• 46 cabins with space for 10 seated passengers;
• The cabins travel at 4.5 metres per second, and can transport up to 1,000 people per hour;
• The terminus will eventually be an “automatic” station (unmanned), managed remotely by cameras;
• Wind resistance is required: 90km/h in operation (with cabin) and 216km/h in hurricane conditions;
• Frequent passing over roads (heavy goods vehicles and vehicles transporting hazardous materials) and buildings;
• Two cable loops are driven by a double-groove pulley in the engine station;
• Systems for high availability;
• A cable restraint system is in place for hurricanes.

This installation features French gondolas manufactured by Poma.

Fire risks were a very important component of this project. The manufacturer carried out fire tests on the rope to verify a large number of scenarios taken into account in the safety demonstration. Studies were also carried out on the behaviour of pylons in the vicinity of a fire. The line is also monitored by numerous thermal imaging cameras.

What’s more, staff are on hand 24 hours a day, particularly for safety-related matters.

This gondola lift is a real first for STRMTG. “It was a very interesting project, which taught us a lot, took up a lot of time and energy, involved a lot of people and was a real eye-opener.”}}}