Gravity Ropeway: Could be a reliable source of

transport the goods and services in Hills and

Mountainous region of Nepal
Presented at

6th International Symposium Networks for

Mobility, September 27/28, 2012
Centre of Transportation Research
UNIVERSITY of STUTTGART

By
Er. Shambhu Dev Baral
Nepal

Presentation outlines
Introduction
Historical Background of Ropeway
Ropeways in ancient times
Ropeways history in Nepal
Present Ropeway Situation
Facts about hilly and mountain transportation
Gravity Ropeway
Why Gravity Ropeway in Nepal ?
Terminologies Gravity Ropeway
Features of Gravity ropeway
Technological Limitations
Finance
Impact Observed
Recommendation

Brief Introduction about Nepal

Boundaries:
Area:
Shape:
Length:
Width:
Altitude:

East, South, West: India

North: TIBET (China)
147,181 sq. km
Roughly rectangular
888 km. (East to West)
Non uniform,
mean width of l93 kms
70 to 8848 m (The Everest)

0.03 % of the world land

0.3 % of Asia
The nearest seaport is Kolkata in India
which is 1120 kms. away from
Kathmandu, the capital of the country

Brief Introduction about Nepal..

Population:
26.9 millions (2008)
Cast/Ethnic Group:
More than 60
Languages :
103
Population Growth Rate: 2.25%.
Rural Population:
86%
Urban Population Growth Rate: 6.09%
GDP:
US $ 470

Hill and Mountain cover 83%

Rivers and rivulets - more 6000

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ROPEWAY

Ropeways in ancient times

Ropeways have been in used more than 2,000 years ago (speculated
since 250 BC)
Comes from the Asian rugged countries like China, India and Japan
Human used rope to cross ravines, rivers and river-gorges, initially
transferring themselves by hand over hand, with the body suspended
In 1536 gold transported in South America
In 1616 illustrated concept of bi-cable ropeway

In 1644 successful bi-cable was operated by the Dutchman Wybe

Adam
In 1650 to 1850, there was no significance progress made
In 1908, DC motor introduced in Grindlewald, Switzerland
In 1928 to1929 cabin design had been improved
End of the nineteenth century, aerial ropeway powered by humans
(sometimes using a windlass or a tread wheel), by animals (mostly
worked by horses or mules), by waterwheels and/or by gravity.
20th century aerial ropeways were built for passenger

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ROPEWAY Contin.

Ropeways history in Nepal

First ropeway in Nepal was constructed in 1924 (carry stones

from the quarry from Halchowk to Lainchour (4 km) for the
construction of Rana palaces)
Second ropeway (22 km) was constructed in 1927 (from Dhorsing
(Bhimphedi) to Matatirtha (Kathmandu) Later in 1947, it was
extended to Teku (+6.5 km))
Third ropeway replacing the second started to operate from
Hetauda to Kathmandu (45 km) in 1964 to transport cement
(Hetauda to Kathmandu)
Practical Action initiated to study and construct ropeways in
1994 onward. (Ghandruk to Syauli Bazaar (4 km), Barpak
Rangrung (2.5 km))
Government and the private sector had constructed several
ropeways for hydropower stations at the end of 2000.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ROPEWAY Contin.

Ropeways
Contin..

history

in

Nepal

in 1998 the first commercially cable

car established by the private sector,
(with approximate span of 3 km)
connecting
Prithivi
Highway at
Kurintar with Manakamana Temple)
In 2001, Practical Action and ICIMOD
successfully demonstrated gravity
goods ropeway technology in Marpha
of Mustang District to transport
Apple.

Present Ropeway Situation:

Electricity driven ropeway are more than 5;
mostly used in hydropower and cement
factories
Manakamana cable car is only for commercial
use for public sector
21 gravity ropeways
more than 3,000 trail bridges
more than 150 Wire Bridges (Tuins)

FACTS ABOUT HILLY AND MOUNTAINS

TRANSPORTATION

Difficult terrain because of steeps and unstable mountains

Construction of road in each settlement is nearly impossible
All-weather road in all parts of country is an illusive dream
Several scattered settlements from top to bottom of the hills
and mountains life is difficult for families who live in
Getting crops to market and import goods can be
exhausting and dangerous;
Limited air transport, no regular flights, irregularity due to
bad weather as well as expensive to travel by air
High accident rates in air as well as in road transport
Road and railway construction are expensive and difficult to
construct; number of crossing and curve are high
No reliable road transport, mostly with gravel and earthen
roads (fair weather roads)
Road access is only 71 districts out of 75 districts
headquarters; access to village development committees
are far behind
Numbers of accidents are high due to bad road condition,
use of old vehicles and drivers negligence

FACTS ABOUT HILLY AND MOUNTAINS

TRANSPORTATION Conti

Frequently occurs landslide in monsoon season

Trail and Track are the main transportation
Limited number of crossings across the rivers,
gorges therefore travel time is more
In hilly region horses, mules, and donkeys are
used for transport of both goods and human
beings
In high mountain regions especially goats and
yaks are used for transport
Porters are also used for carrying goods in many
parts of the country
Human and animals are the main means of
transportation.
On an average four hours walk to reach road
head (some remote place it takes 8 to 10 days to
reach road head)

GRAVITY ROPEWAY

Gravitational force is most reliable, spontaneous and

never ending source of energy and it's free
Gravity ropeway operates under the principle of
gravitational force without the use of external power

How it operates:
Gravity ropeway is like a pulley system
It consists of two trolleys, rolling over two separate
supporting steel wire ropes (support cable or track rope)
suspended from two separate towers.
Two trolleys are connected to a single looped wire rope
called control wire or hauling rope in between two support
cables or track rope
Control wire ties around a cast iron flywheel at each
extremity with bearing and bracket
A hand brake is integrated with flywheel to control the
landing speed of the trolley at the bottom-station.
Loaded trolley at the up-station is pulled downward by the
force of gravity, the other trolley at the bottom-station is
pulled up automatically by means of control cable.

Working Principle of Gravity Ropeway

Why Gravity Ropeway in Nepal

Figure 5: Oil Price in Nepal

NRs. per Liter

Construction cost of roads and other

means of transportation network is high,
tedious and time consuming due to the
topography and weak geological condition
Impossible to connect each and every
scattered settlement by road, rail and air
transportation network
No sufficient electricity (nearly 16 hours
load shedding in winter) and fossil fuel is
scarce as well as expensive to operate
power driven means of transportation
Gravity ropeway is inexpensive and
transportation cost become low

150
100
50
0
1995

2000

2005

2010

Petrol(NRs/L)
Diesel(NRs/L)
Kerosene Open (NRs/L)

2015

Why Gravity Ropeway in Nepal Conti

Appropriate Technology in hills and mountains regions
(Even in extreme topography and weak geological
condition)
Being a simple technology, it is easy to operation and
maintenance
Gravity Ropeway improves accessibility of poor people
living in the remote areas and enhances their living
standards
Supports social justice to those people who lives in remote
hills and mountainous areas; don't have any means of
transportation
Technology depends on gravitational force which is never
ending source of energy. Being the hilly and mountainous
country, it has a lot of potential to develop. Therefore, the
gravity ropeway is a viable both alternative as well as
complementary mode of transport.

Features of Gravity ropeway

A) Cost effectiveness: Construction and installation cost of gravity ropeway is
lesser than other conventional means of transport (gravity ropeway is Rs.
1.4 million whereas per kilometer construction cost of a four meter wide
earthen road in the hills is approximately Rs. 3 million)
B) Time saving: - Goods can be transported through gravity ropeway within few
minutes; a kilometer distance in less than 5 minutes.
C) Short route: Road or railways, winding of the alignment is unavoidable in
order to attain a comfortable gradient for vehicle movement. But, gravity
ropeway, as the rope suspended in the air, alignment is straight and short .
D) Energy efficient: This technology runs utilizing gravitational force; don't
require any external power or fuel.
E) Environment friendly: Negligible impact on surrounding environment; neither
cause noise nor air pollution, not disturb existing ecology, does not require
heavy cuts and fills as in case of building motorable roads and rails. It would
be the best project for developing CDM. As per existing Environment
Regulation of Nepal, the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)/
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for gravity ropeway installation is
not required.

Features of Gravity ropeway Conti.

F) Simple technology: Doesn't require any sophisticated equipment
therefore does not require external experts to build. Local people can
easily handle this technology.
G) Nominal operation and maintenance cost: Does not require any fuel,
high skilled manpower. Likely, it requires minimum maintenance work
which does not cost much.
H) Employment: two locals get full-time employments as an operators and
two more get part-time job as a helpers. Creates indirect employment in
agriculture sector and cottage industries.
i) Low transportation cost: as low construction, operation and maintenance
cost; transportation cost is very low as compare to other means of
transportation (as low as NRs.1 to 1.50/kg).
j) Community involvement: Whole community involved to build this project
right from the project formulation to every stage of construction. Villagers
formulate users committee; mobilize community, local/central government
and donors resources to complete the project.

Major Terminologies
Support Cable or Track Ropes: Use to support Trolley;
Trolley slides on support cable "to and fro; attached in
two different towers at the top and bottom stations;
usually larger than that of the haulage rope.
Supporting Tower: Steel or concrete structure placed at
upper and bottom station to support the support cable to
absorb the possible thrust.
Control Cable or Haulage Ropes: Provides the traction
force and hauls carriages on the track rope which
oscillate back and forth in between to flywheel at the top
and bottom.
Pulley or Flywheel: Provide traction force to control
cable; Placed at each end of gravity ropeway
Trolley or Carrier: Made up of the steel to carry the
goods; Size and shape varies according to the nature of
the loads to carry
Station or Platform: Placed at each end of gravity
ropeway line and consists of flywheel, landing platform,
space for storage of materials and a shed to shield them
Hand brake: Wooden brake shoe is fitted at the bottom
station to control the velocity of moving trolley

Limitations observed in Nepalese context

Span: Span is limited to 1500-meter. When the span exceeds 1500 meter,
the rope tension due to its self weight becomes huge as the rope is
suspended between two points only.
Slope: Can only operate between 15 to 40 degree slope; best slope within
a range of 20 to 30 degree but Nepalese Hills and Mountains are more
steep.
Upward moving load: Capacity of upward moving load is very limited;
thumb rule for upward moving load should be three times as lighter (40 kg)
as the downward moving (120 kg)
Loading ratio: Loading ratio should be maintained in such a way that the
trolleys approach to respective stations with minimum speed but doesn't
stop in between. Actual loading ratio should be carefully evaluated after the
operation of the gravity ropeway and should be maintained.

FINANCE BY:
60 to 65 percent external support to purchase
mechanical parts, skilled labour, cement, steel and
other constructional materials which are not available
at the site
donors and INGOs
local and central government
35 to 40 percent local communities' contribution for
unskilled labour, land, and local constructional
materials
Operation and maintenance costs are met by user
charges.
The major cost component is for the imported steel
cables about around 7000 for 1400m cable and
mechanical parts.

IMPACT OBSERVED
Although the detailed study has not been done to evaluate the impact of
the gravity ropeway, but general impacts observed during the
consultation with the beneficiaries are as follows:
Income of villager has increased some villager claim more than 3
times.
Drudgery to transport goods has been reduced substantially
Transportation costs saved around 85%
Direct and indirect employment has been increased
More time has been saved; saved time has been utilized for
productive income generative activities and more time for family
care
Marketing capability has increased to get better prices.
.

Key success factors

Accountability

Rule of law

Transparency

Appropriate technology

Participation

It could take two

people over three
hours to carry a
120kg load of apples
1.3 km down a steep
mountain path and
thats just the first
part of the gruelling
journey to market.
Now, with a gravity
ropeway, the apples
take less than five
minutes to cover the
same
distance.
Depending solely on
gravitational force
and using no external
power

gravity
ropeways are simple,
inexpensive
to
operate,
and
environmentally
friendly.
www.practicalaction.org

Quote from
Dharma
It takes two hours
to get down the
mountain trail to
the main road, and
during
the
monsoon,
accidents
are
frequent (due to
landslides). Now
we have the gravity
ropeway, the time
saved means I can
earn three times as
much from selling
my
vegetables.
With that extra
money I can afford
to buy farm and
animals, too.
www.practicalaction.org

One calculation
showed that a
ropeway only 1
mile
(1,630
meters) long with
a difference in
altitude of 0.4
miles
(645
meters)
would
require a railway
of 15 miles (24
km) to reach the
same
point.
Ropeways were
also generally half
as expensive to
operate
when
compared
to
cartage by mules,
horses, and oxen.
www.lowtechmagazine.co
m

Hira from Bishaltar

in Nepal
Before the gravity
ropeway
was
constructed, Hira
would have to pay
a porter to carry
his
tomatoes
down
the
mountain-side at a
cost of 100 rupees
per load. Now, a
much heavier load
can
be
transported using
the ropeway at a
cost of just 15
rupees seven
times
cheaper
than
hiring
a
porter.
www.practicalaction.org

RECOMMENDATION
The technology is in primitive stage in Nepal. Therefore more research and
development is necessary to improve this technology.
Involvement of the local community, private sector, technical institutes,
research institutes, local government, and central government is necessary
for the promotion of gravity ropeway in a synergy way.
Develop national policy and recognized this technology as reliable means
of rural transport system in hilly and mountain regions.
Introduce Insurance policy
Provision for emergency treatment and first aid training to local operations
and helper
Length and carrying capacity has to increase and modify the technology to
transport people as well
If possible electrical energy can be recovered to charge the battery or other
productive use from flywheel speed.
Integrate with other livelihoods and transport related programmes
complimenting roads, bridges, markets etc
Wider dissemination of technology all over the country
More participation from the development partners is needed.

Short Clip on Gravity Ropeway

EXPLORE RENEWABLE ENERGY AS MUCH AS WE CAN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the scientific committee as
well as Centre of Transportation Research,
University of Stuttgart for selecting my paper for
the presentation and giving me this opportunity.
Similarly, I would like to thank German Research
Funding Organization (DFG) for their financial
support to participate in this programme.
I would like to thank Ms. Rainer Schtzle,
Manager, Centre of Transportation Research of
University of Stuttgart for her regular support
from the beginning to end of this 6th International
Symposium. Centre of Transportation Research
of University of Stuttgart