Ropeways in Nepal

Introduction
• A ropeway is a form of naval lifting device used to transport
light stores and equipment across rivers or ravines. It comprises a
jackstay, slung between two sheers or gyns, one at either end,
from which is suspended a block and tackle, that is free to travel
along the rope and hauled back and forth by inhauls (ropes
attached to the pulley from which the block and tackle are
suspended).It is a very useful method of Transportation for very
short distance.
• Because they are more stable, in particular in the direction along
the ropeway, and because they require less guying, gyns are
better than sheers for supporting a ropeway.
The history of ropeways
• The ropeway – a rope based transport system – is one of the oldest means of transportation system.
• The principle of rope based transport system was known even in ancient times. The early Chinese historical
drawing shows, this technology has been in use for goods and human transportation since early 250 BC.
• Modern ropeways started in Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and later, in Italy and
France.
• Fausto Veranzio of Venice developed a bi rope passenger ropeway in early 1616. Later, in 1664, Wybe
Adam, a Dutchman, constructed the first successful operational ropeway system.
• Ropeways developed rapidly with the introduction of wire ropes and later with the electricity driven ones.
Extensive use of tramways during World War I between Italy and Austria in mountainous terrain paved ways
for developing and adapting this technology into reliable transportation system for carrying goods and
people.
• During the course of the industrial revolution, the invention of steel ropes by the German mining official,
Albert in 1834, opened up the rapid development of various types of rope based transportation systems.
• Starting around 1900, higher-performance aerial ropeways also began to be built for passenger
transportation. The first urban cableway was built in Lyon, France in 1862, where the three-car trains carried
up to 324 people.
• During the 19th century, the funiculars were also used for leisure excursion transport, such as in 1874 at the
Leopoldsberg hill, near Vienna, Austria. Included in the leisure time classification are also those short aerial
cableways that provided visitors to expos and amusement parks with special entertainment.
• From 1907/1908, the know-how acquired with the intensive use of similar systems for goods began to be
applied to the construction of modern aerial cableways for passengers. In 1908, the first ropeway for
passenger transportation in Central Europe, the “Kohlernbahn” was built in Bozen, Italy, by LEITNER
ropeways.
• Winter tourism required ropeways that were more and more efficient, yet at the same time comfortable. In
year 1930 the first large cabin gondola lift was built near Freiburg, Germany, followed by the first ski tow lift
in 1933 in Davos, Switzerland and the first chairlift in Sun Valley, USA in 1935. The year 1947 marked the
first Italian chairlift made in Corvara by LEITNER ropeways.
• TodayRopeways are mature, efficient and comfortable means of transport that are used mainly in the areas
of winter sports and tourism. Thanks to their specific characteristics, such as flexibility and cost efficiency,
ropeways are also gaining in importance as a means of transport in urban areas
Past History of Ropeway in Nepal
• In 1922 Shree Tin Maharaj Chandra Shamsher started building a 22km long
cargo Ropeway from Dhorsing-chisapnai-chandragiri hills passing into the
Kathmandu which was completed in 1927. Later in 1947, it was extended to teku
(+6.5km)
• The first ropeway was operated since 1924 to carry stone s from the quarry from
Halchowk to Lainchour (4Km) for the construction of Rana Palace.
• In 1964, this system was further improved and extended to 42 kilometer to
Hetauda with the financial and technical assistance of the United State Agency
for international Development (USAID) .
• Many Agencies carried out feasibility study in the past to explore the possibilities
of the different types of Ropeway in Nepal. Unfortunately they all remained like
academic excercises. Two goods carrying ropeways, Bhattedanda and Barpak,
and Mankamana passenger Ropeway were actually built.
• The Feasibility report of these projects showed that demand for ropeway is high
in remote areas of Nepal. But Policy makers did not give serious attention.
• The Ninth Five-year Plan mentioned ropeway in brief and encouraged
involvement of private sector. But no provision in national budget was made for
ropeway development.
• Despite the visible success showed by Bhattedanda Ropeway and Mankamana
Cable car the transport bureaucracy do not view ropeway as the means of
improving rural economy by connecting remote areas to the market.
• However Private sector and ropeway activists have now shown great interest in
development of ropeway in Nepal.
Gravity Goods Ropeway
• Depending solely on gravitational
force – and using no external power –
gravitational ropeways are simple
and inexpensive to operate as well as
environmentally friendly.
• Gravitational ropeways use no
external power, only gravity. Two
linked trolleys, on pulleys, run on
separate 10mm diameter steel wires
which are suspended from towers: as
the full trolley comes down, pulled by
the weight of its load, it pulls the
empty one up, ready for the next
load. The trolleys’ progress is
controlled by another, 8mm wire,
looped over a flywheel. A wooden
drum brake, with bearing and
bracket, governs their speed.
Ropeway Mechanics
Let
m1 be the mass of downward moving trolley with load and
m2 be mass of upward moving trolley with load.
Here, m1 is always greater than m2.
Here,
I. Initial potential energy of downward moving trolley (PE0) = m1gh0, where h0 is the elevation difference
between the upper and lower saddles;
II. Potential energy of downward moving trolley at the point of consideration (PE1) = m1gh1
where h1 is the height of the first trolley from lower saddle at the time of consideration;
III. Potential energy of upward moving trolley at the time of consideration (PE2) = m2gh2, h2 is the height
of m2 from lower saddle at the time of consideration;
IV. Combined work done by the masses against the friction (W1)= 0.25(m1+m2) cosβS
where S is the rope length covered by the trolleys at the time;
V. Combined Rotational Energy of sheaves (W2) = I ω2, where ω= v/r, I = . mr2
Where r and m are the radius and mass of the sheave respectively.
Now, as per the principle of conservation of energy,
0.5 (m1+m2+mh) v2 = PE0-PE1-PE2 -W1-W2
Here, mh is the mass of the hauling rope.
From this relationship, the velocity of moving trolleys at specified time and point along the route can be
calculated. The actual velocity for a given loading condition is usually less than the velocity obtained from
this relationship. As the track rope and hauling rope are not parallel to each other in vertical plane, the
hauling rope is pulled towards the track rope while the gravity ropeway is in operation. This leads to the
excessive friction between the hauling rope and the sheave which leads to the loss of velocity.
Nevertheless, the idea of tentative approaching velocity of the trolley helps to calculate the maximum
possible impact load which is very important for the rope design.
Features of Gravity Ropeway
• Cost effectiveness: Construction and installation cost of gravity ropeway is lesser than
other conventional means of transport like roads and railways. The approximate cost of
the gravity ropeway is Rs. 1,400,000 where as per kilometre construction cost of a four
metre wide earthen road in the hills is approximately Rs. 3,000,000.
• Time saving: As goods can be transported through gravity ropeway within few
minutes, it is efficient and time saving.
• Short route: In the case of roads or railways, alignments are usually winding to
acquire required gradient which makes the route longer and costlier. Unlike those, as
the rope of gravity ropeway is suspended in the air, the alignment is straight which
results in a short route.
• Energy efficient: Gravity ropeway operates solely from the gravitational force. It does
not require any external power or fuel. This is very important for a country like Nepal
where we can save costs by reducing the import of fossil fuels for air and surface
transports.
• Environment friendly: Gravity ropeway is environment friendly technology. It
neither causes noise nor air pollution. It does not disturb ambient environment and the
existing ecology.
• Simple technology: Gravity ropeway employs very simple and robust technology
which can be operated and maintained by local communities. It does not require
external experts apart from the inputs and technical facilitation in surveying and
designing, which can also be done by local engineers and technicians.
• Nominal operation and maintenance cost: As the gravity ropeway does not require
any fuel or highly skilled manpower for its operation and maintenance, its running and
maintenance costs are nominal
 Limitations
• Span: Through the learning experience, the span of gravity ropeway is currently limited to 1500
metres for operational efficiency and safety. When the span exceeds over 1500 metres, the tension
due to the self load of the wire rope increases as it is suspended between two points only. In
addition, the energy loss due to the friction will be more in longer span ropeways. Therefore, for
safety and efficiency, the span of gravity ropeway is recommended to the limit of 1500 metres
only.
• Slope: One of the limitations of gravity ropeway is that it cannot be operated in a gentle slope.
Experience shows that it requires at least 15 degrees of slope to operate smoothly. The upper limit
can go as high as 40 degrees if proper loading ratio is maintained and an arrangement to prevent
derailing of the trolleys from the track ropes is placed. However, according to current practice,
preferable slope for gravity ropeway is from 20 to 30 degrees.
• Up hauling capacity: Gravity ropeway is mainly for transporting produces from hilly villages to
the road/trail head markets. It has very limited capacity to haul up goods from the market to the
villages up in the hills. As a rule of thumb, the downward moving load should be three times
heavier than the upward moving load.
• Loading ratio: The speed of the trolley in gravity ropeway is mainly dependent on the slope and
loading ratio along with several other factors including application of lubrication in the pulleys and
wire ropes, and application of brakes. The loading ratio should be well maintained so that the
trolleys approach the respective stations with minimum speed but will not stop in between. Actual
loading ratio should be carefully evaluated after the test operation of the gravity ropeway and the
recommended ratio should always be maintained. If the loading ratio is not properly maintained, the
trolley moving downward may approach with excessive speed. Failing to apply brake can result in a
ramming impact at the bottom station risking the safety of the haulage rope and other accessories
and even endangering the life of the operator. Sometimes because of loading imbalance, the trolleys
do not move with required speed and energy to haul loads up and down the stations requiring
manual pulling of the hauling rope. Therefore, the operators need to be fully trained to make proper
load balance between two trolleys while operating the gravity ropeway. Measuring/weighing
equipment are essential to weigh the loads at both stations before it is put into operation.
Existing Planning Process
• Components for Planning process
• Planning the project work
• Planning the human resource and organization
• Planning the financial resources
• Planning the information system
• Project planning is a multi-stage process and is enumerated as:
• Establishment of Objective
• Establishing assumption based on facts
• Establishing the logical sequencing of activities
• Searching and evaluating alternative course of action
• Identification of time and resources
• Assignment of responsibilities and
• Finalization of Project Plan
Cable car in Nepal
• In Operation
• Manakamana Cable Car
• Chandragri Cable Car
• Kalinchowk Cable Car
• Several Tuin and gravity goods ropeway at different parts of
country
• In study
• Fewa lake to Sarangkot
• Maulakalika Cable Car
• Sagarmatha Ropeway (Lukla to Namche Bazar)
• Chandragiri Zipline
• Pathibhara Cable car
• Pokhara Cable car ( Basundhara Park to World Peace Pagoda)
• And others for material in different hydropower and other
project