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Singapore Cable Car

 

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Singapore Cable Car


 
 


The Singapore Cable Car provides an aerial link from Mount FaberMount Faber

Mount Faber, formerly known as Telok Blangah Hill is a hill about 106 metres in height in Singapore, located near the ...
 on the main island of SingaporeSingapore

Singapore, formally the Republic of Singapore , is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia....
 to the resort island of SentosaSentosa

Sentosa, which means tranquillity in Malay, is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some two million people ...
 across the Keppel HarbourKeppel Harbour

Keppel Harbour is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa....
. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbour. Although referred to by its operators as a cable car, the listed system is in fact a bi-cable gondola liftGondola lift Overview

A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, often called a cable car, which consists of a loop of steel cable that is str...
 and not an aerial tramwayAerial tramway Summary

An aerial tramway is a type of aerial lift, often called a cable car or ropeway, and sometimes incorrectly refer...
.

History

The Singapore government came up with the idea of an aerial cableway to Sentosa from Mount Faber in 1968 as part of its masterplan for tourism projects in the country. 4 years later in 1972, construction on the S$5.8 million system commenced, and was officially opened on 15 February 1974 by then Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Goh Keng SweeGoh Keng Swee

Goh Keng Swee born is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore....
.

During its opening, the system had 43 cabins which required manual opening and closing of doors by cabin attendants. This was increased to 51 cabins in 1976. The show Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O was an American television series that starred Jack Lord and James MacArthur as detectives for a fictional...
 was filmed on the system in the same year, while the world's first Mass Weddings on the cable cars was introduced in the late 1970s.

Tragedy struck the system in the Singapore Cable Car disaster of 29 January 1983, which saw seven people killed when two cabins plunged into the sea after the cableway was hit by a Panamanian-registered oil rig.

In 1988, the system celebrated its 10 millionth rider. It played hosts to the contestants of the Miss WorldMiss World

The Miss World pageant is an international beauty pageant founded in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951....
 Pageant when it was held in Singapore in 1989, as well as the sportmen and officials who were here for the Southeast Asian GamesSoutheast Asian Games

The Southeast Asian Games, is a biannual multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast...
 in 1990.

The system's cabins were replaced in 1994 at a cost of over S$11 million. The new cabins totalled 80, and effectively doubled the system's capacity to 1400 passengers per hour in either direction from 700 passengers previously. The upgrade took 25 days to complete, during which time the system suspended operations.

A year later in 1995, the system welcomed its 20 millionth rider, and quickly reached its 25 millionth visitor just two years later in 1997. The stations at Mount Faber and Sentosa were also upgraded in the same year, while LegoLego

Lego is a line of toys manufactured by Lego Group, a privately-held company based in Denmark....
 presented to Singapore the world's only life-size cable car cabin based on the Singapore cable car's design.

In November 1999, the Singapore cable car system did another world's first with its glass-bottomed cabins at a cost of S$30,000 each. 6 more of these popular cabins were added in December 2000, giving the system a total of 81 cabins today.

For a week from 16 March 2004, the system conducted the 'Surviving the Sky' Challenge as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations. 34 two-man teams (2 teams withdrew at the last minute) from around Asia attempted the challenge to see who could survive the longest in the cable car for 24 hours a day.

Specifications

The bi-cable, detachable-grip gondola liftGondola lift Summary

A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, often called a cable car, which consists of a loop of steel cable that is str...
 system has three stations, namely The Jewel Box Station at Mount FaberMount Faber

Mount Faber, formerly known as Telok Blangah Hill is a hill about 106 metres in height in Singapore, located near the ...
, the HarbourFront Station at HarbourFrontHarbourfront

Harbourfront is a waterfront tourist, residential and cultural real estate development on the northern shore of Lake Ontario...
 and the Sentosa Station at SentosaSentosa

Sentosa, which means tranquillity in Malay, is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some two million people ...
. Two supporting towers are located between each pair of stations. This distance between The Jewel Box Station and the first tower is about 300 metres, from the first tower to the Harbourfront Station is 400 metres, from the Harbourfront Station to the second tower at 500 metres, and from the second tower to the Sentosa Station is 450 metres long.

The height of the track rope is as follows:
  • The Jewel Box Station (formerly Mount Faber Station): 93 m above mean sea level
  • Tower 1: 80 m above mean sea level
  • Harbourfront Station: 69 m above mean sea level
  • Tower 2: 88 m above mean sea level
  • Sentosa Station: 47 m above mean sea level


The system currently consists of 81 cabins, suspended at least 60 metres above the sea, and about 61 m between each cabin (or one cabin per 15 to 21 seconds). Each cabin can carry a maximum of 6 adult passengers, while the whole system can support 1400 passengers per hour either way. Travelling at a speed of 4 metres per second, it takes about 4 minutes to get from Mount Faber to Jardine Steps, and another 5.5 minutes to continue on to Sentosa. Including the short interval at Jardine Steps, however, it will take 12 minutes on a continuous ride from Mount Faber to Sentosa.

In addition, there are 27 red-coloured aircraft warningAircraft warning lights

Aircraft warning lights are high-intensity lighting devices that are attached to tall structures and used as collision avoid...
 balls mounted on a telephone rope just above the cableway.

External links