Cable Car Congress with top speakers from all over the world

Participants from Germany, Europe, LATAM and Africa

From June 4 to 5, 2024, Messe Essen will become the driving force behind the planning and implementation of urban mobility projects on the Plus One level: international experts in the field of urban cable cars will share their knowledge at the Cable Car Congress, which will take place alongside the Cable Car World trade fair. "38 top speakers and panel-hosts from a total of 13 countries, including France, Austria, Sierra Leone, Mexico and Colombia, will offer a detailed insight into the topic of urban cable cars and provide specific recommendations for action at this forward-looking specialist event," explains Dominik Berndt, Managing Director of Cable Car World GmbH, partner of the congress trade fair.

In many parts of the world, cable cars are already a tried and tested component of sustainable mobility in urban areas. In Germany, they are gradually moving into the focus of urban and transportation planning as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly supplement to conventional means of transport. There is a great need for information - especially among the responsible local authorities. The speakers at the Cable Car Congress will provide comprehensive know-how on all aspects of urban cable car projects in presentations and panel discussions. Workshops and tours of the trade fair will provide in-depth knowledge between the four congress blocks.

Congress Day 1 on Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Part I of the congress is entitled "Urban Development & Cable Cars" and uses national and international examples to highlight the new options that arise from the use of cable cars in urban area development. Highlights include the keynote speech by Prof. Luis Angel Guzmán from the University of the Andes in Bogota and the lecture "Modern mobility solutions for the development of a future neighborhood in the Ruhr metropolis" by Dr. Frank Dudda, Lord Mayor of the City of Herne. The city in the Ruhr region is currently planning the development of a state-of-the-art technology district in which a central cable car will play a key role in the mobility concept.

"Financing & Funding" is the title of Part II on the first day. The focus is on private and public financing models for infrastructure projects and the necessary framework conditions that must be in place. For example, Ingo Strater, Head of Sustainable Urban and Rural Mobility, Networks, Digital Municipal Transport Systems at the German Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport, will report on "Funding Scenarios and Conditions for Urban Cable Cars in Germany".

The federal funding program could be used to finance a cable car in Duisburg, Germany, for example. A study has already confirmed the feasibility of the project, which would connect a new technology park to the main railway station. Another highlight will be a panel discussion in cooperation with the IFC - International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group) on PPP approaches. Moderator Ramatou Magagi from the IFC will travel from the headquarters in Washington to lead the discussion.

Congress Day 2 on Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Part III of the Cable Car Congress on the second day of the trade fair is dedicated to the ideal planning and process flow for implementing cable car projects in cities as quickly and efficiently as possible. Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE, Mayor of the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown and Co-Chair of the global city network C40 Cities, will outline how mobility restrictions in the West African city are to be overcome by building an urban cable car as the backbone of local public transport.

Part IV concludes the congress with the topic "Operations & Best Practice". It addresses the specific requirements of operating a ropeway in an urban environment and presents successful examples from the field. The focus here extends as far as South America. Sergio Astorga from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana will speak on the topic of "Economic and socio-environmental impacts of cable cars in Mexico City", while Cesar Portillo Arano, project manager at Mi Teleférico, the state-owned cable car operator in Bolivia, will share "Experience from the world's largest cable car network in La Paz, Bolivia". It covers a distance of 30 kilometers and is considered an international flagship project of the Austrian cable car manufacturer Doppelmayr, which is also exhibiting and sponsoring at Cable Car World, as are the cable car manufacturers Bartholet and Leitner.