Stuttgart Cable Car

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A cable car ascending to the forest cemetery

The Stuttgart Cable Car (Seilbahn in German) is a cable car in Stuttgart, Germany.

The cable car runs between the Südheimer valley station and the Stuttgart Degerloch forest cemetery in the south quarters of Heslach. Operated by "Stuttgart Streetcars AG" (SSB), a subsidiary of the "Stuttgart Traffic Group" (VVS), it was constructed on 30 October 1929 to facilitate visitors to the forest cemetery which is 90 metres above Stuttgart Heslach.

At Südheimer, the cable car system connects to the Stadtbahn light railway lines, U1 and U14. With an average upward gradient of 29 per cent, and a track width of 1000 mm, the cable cars travel the 536 meters in three minutes. The two cars, constructed of teak wood, were manufactured by Esslingen Engine Works.

In December 1999, one of the cars was damaged by an uprooted tree as a result of a thunderstorm, but was afterwards restored. The course was modernised in 2004 in order to fulfill the new European Union safety guidelines. Since 24 July 2004, it is again running on schedule.

The cable car system is one of two active transport tourist attractions in Stuttgart, the other being the rack railway (line 10).