Malcesine-Spino Cable Car Renewal: Bids, Costs, and Innovative System
There are two companies competing in the tender for the complete renewal of the Malcesine-Spino cable car. The deadline for submission, Tuesday at noon (January 30), saw applications from Holzl of Lana and Leitner of Vipiteno. It will now be up to the board of directors of the cable car consortium, chaired by Giuseppe Venturini, to evaluate each offer and make the appropriate decision. One thing is certain. To avoid risking losing the summer season of 2002, the renovation work for the entire cableway system must begin this September and be completed by the end of June 2002. Among the significant innovations proposed in the project are rotating cabins, the construction of a multimedia hall, and an underground parking lot.
Evaluation of Technical Solutions and Costs
The conclusions of the experts, led by Professor Mario Bonfioli from the University of Trento, dismissed the appealing hypothesis of a system with cabins equipped with automatic coupling. While this project presented advantages such as flexibility and adaptability to various traffic conditions, it also posed considerable difficulties, including the deforestation of a long olive grove stretch in the first segment Malcesine-San Michele.
Additionally, the experts considered the challenging recovery conditions for passengers in the event of a breakdown along the second segment, and the limited adaptability of the regular cable car users (tourists, sometimes elderly or children, who are less prepared for climbing vehicles that move slowly). Finally, and not least, cost considerations were taken into account: a cable car with cabins featuring automatic coupling would entail expenses significantly higher than those of the cableway to be built, which, similarly to the current bifune system, will have different capacity levels.
The total estimated expenditure is around 36 billion liras. To this must be added the costs of constructing new infrastructure (valley, intermediate, and upper stations), bringing the total project cost beyond 45 billion liras, of which five billion are allocated solely for the rotating cabins.
System Characteristics and Management
“The new cable car,” explains engineer Mario Pedrotti, the project designer, “will transport 600 passengers per hour (three times more than now, ed.) thanks to two different types of cabins. In the first segment, traditional cars with a capacity of 40 people will be used, while in the second segment (San Michele – Spino Track), rotating cabins with a capacity of up to eighty units will operate.”
This system will allow passengers, during the ascent, to admire the landscape in 360 degrees thanks to the slow rotational movement of the cabin floor. It is a unique solution in Italy and the second in Europe. In thirteen minutes, the Malcesine center will be connected to the 1760-meter-high Spino Track, with a system constantly monitored and managed by four separate computers that oversee all safety-related functions.
Related Infrastructure and Services
Regarding infrastructure, the valley station at Malcesine will be directly accessible from the underground parking lot below, capable of accommodating over 200 cars. The intermediate station at San Michele, which drives both segments, will centralize all technical rooms (machine rooms, transformer station, workshop, warehouses), and a ticket office is also planned.
Finally, the current upper station at Spino will be flanked by two interconnected buildings, one serving as a bar-restaurant and the other as a multimedia hall, designed to host exhibitions, conferences, ski awards, and to function as a shelter in case of bad weather. These buildings will also include a first aid station, a ski school, and public restrooms.