President Boric leads the start of works on the Bicentennial Cable Car

Statement from the Ministry of Public Works of Chile

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

The President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric; The Minister of Public Works, Jessica López and the mayor of Huechuraba, Carlos Cuadrado, led the ceremony for the start of works on the Bicentenario Cable Car, which will connect the communes of Huechuraba, Providencia, Las Condes and Vitacura. It is estimated that this cable car will have a capacity of 3,000 passengers per hour in each direction and involves an investment of 80 million dollars.

Thus, from the commune of Huechuraba, where the Ciudad Empresarial Station will be located, the president began the work that will allow the creation of nearly a thousand new jobs during the construction period. The transportation system includes three stations, adding to the Business City, which will be located in the Metropolitan Park and in Tobalaba.

This will be the first public transport cable car in the city and will reduce a 45-minute journey to just 13, that is, less than a third of the time currently taken.

“These types of works are those that concretely change people's daily lives and transcend governments. That makes me happy. When I have had to inaugurate new Metro stations or lay stones for works of these characteristics, which improve the quality of life of our inhabitants, the first thing I think about is how many more stories are going to be able to be told on Mothers' and Fathers' Night to their children. children. And reducing the transfer time by about half an hour, as is going to be done here, is a gain that significantly improves also something that is very important, which we do not talk about as much, but which I hope will be one of the legacies of our Government, improve social cohesion that starts in the family, that starts in the neighborhood. I believe that with works of these characteristics it is achieved,” said President Boric.

The President added that “we project that the Bicentenario Cable Car will be operating in 2026. We are going to make every effort to make this happen and we will be constantly talking with the company, with the workers to meet the deadlines and, hopefully, even, if it is possible, advance it. This new means of transportation will benefit neighbors and workers from Huechuraba, Las Condes, Providencia and Vitacura with three stations, 122 cabins and a capacity to transport 3 thousand passengers per hour, in each direction. Furthermore, and this is very important, its construction will create more than a thousand direct and indirect jobs. Those who today take 45 minutes to get from the Tobalaba metro to Ciudad Empresarial, from now on, when we finish these works, it will take 13 minutes.”

For her part, the Minister of Public Works, Jessica López, commented that "this is a modern solution with first-class technology, whose cars are already being manufactured in Austria and Switzerland, it will link Huechuraba with Providencia and will have a significant impact on 30 thousand "people who come to work in Ciudad Empresarial, saving 30 minutes on each trip, arriving by electric transport and which means a great contribution to decontamination."

Finally, Mayor Cuadrado pointed out that “Chileans deserve to be transported outdoors instead of on a bus inside a tunnel, because Chileans require clean air instead of polluting, because we need to move towards clean energy, because we have to transform means of transportation for recreation, for sports or for tourism, and all of this is being done today with the start of these works. “I am very happy that this is finally a fact and we hope that Chileans can enjoy it as soon as possible.”

This transportation system is expected to be available during the year 2026 and will have 19 towers or cable support stacks, 122 modern cabins with capacity for 10 passengers each, which will travel 3.2 kilometers. This will allow 3 thousand passengers to travel every hour in each direction.

The Government and the MOP reaffirmed the commitment to building sustainable cities, which is why cable cars are also being promoted in the cities of Alto Hospicio, whose tender will be held during 2024; in Valparaíso and in Puerto Montt .

Public infrastructure can be a fundamental tool to quickly and effectively reduce some of the inequalities in our cities. In the case of cable cars, they offer a clean, safe and regular transportation system.