Krakow like Zakopane? They want to launch a gondola here

Do you think that gondolas are the domain of mountain ski resorts? Nothing could be further from the truth. Although in Poland the most popular ones are located in the Tatra Mountains or Bieszczady Mountains, sometimes we can also find them in large cities, especially abroad. Examples include Singapore (Singapore Cable Car), London with its IFS Cloud Cable Car, or Barcelona and Telefèric de Montjuïc. Krakow, often compared to a Spanish city, also wants to have its own gondola as a local means of transport.

Will Krakow have a gondola?

In Poland, gondolas have, among others, cities such as Bielsko-Biała, where there is a gondola to Szyndzielnia, and Wrocław has the “Polinka” railway. A solution of the same type as in Lower Silesia would be created in Krakow. The idea even reached the mayor of the city, Aleksander Miszalski. City councilor Marek Hohenauer asked to investigate the possibility of constructing such a queue.

The councilors decided that a cable car would be useful in the Mistrzejowice district. A route has already been proposed, i.e. the section between the “Kraków Piastów (SKA)” railway stop and the “Piastów os.” tram terminus. Such a connection would support the existing transfer infrastructure. Travelers could, among others: avoid intersections or traffic jams, and avoid excessive noise and pollution.

In his interpellation to the mayor of Krakow, the councilor also writes about other advantages of the gondola, including: about shortening travel times, improving comfort and relieving the road system.

There are many questions about the case

Although most people are aware of how cable railways work in cities, each place has its own infrastructure with which such transport must be well coordinated. The councilor wondered, among other things: whether the new solution could be primarily urban rather than touristic in nature and what changes would be necessary in the local spatial development plan for the Piast/Heroes of Września region.

There were also questions about whether the gondola would be included in the lines of the KMK/SKA system on the basis of full integration (one ticket, common tariff, coordination of timetables).

Although the idea of ​​creating a queue has been present in the public debate for a long time, there are many indications that a lot of work and analysis is still necessary before its implementation.