Small Swiss cableways turn to technology and tourism to survive

Nearly half of Switzerland’s small cableways are facing financial difficulties, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF. Two facilities in central Switzerland are using different strategies to remain viable.

Dallenwil to Wiesenberg

In Wiesenberg, a small hamlet above the Dallenwil valley in Nidwalden, the cableway is not a tourist attraction but an essential means of transport. Its two cabins each hold four people and carry post, children and older residents. It becomes even more important when winter snow covers the roads.

For the past two years, residents have been able to use the cableway without staff on site. An app allows them to call a cabin directly from their smartphones. This enables the service to operate around the clock while reducing personnel costs, said Adrian Niederberger, president of the Dallenwil to Wiesenberg cableway cooperative.

Residents initially needed extensive support to use the system, Niederberger said, but they have since adapted to it. Almost 80 percent of journeys are now made independently.

The modernisation cost 1.2 million francs. Niederberger said financing it would have been practically impossible without support from the canton and numerous private donations. Because the line is classified as public transport, it receives cantonal support, but its finances remain precarious.

Parts of the infrastructure still date from the 1930s. The cooperative’s goal is to extend the cableway’s service life by another 20 or 30 years, Niederberger said.

Niederbauen

About 30 kilometres away in Emmetten, the Niederbauen cableway faces a different challenge. It carries more than 90,000 passengers a year, mainly tourists. The six minute journey ends at the summit, which offers a panoramic view of Lake Lucerne.

The first cableway was built in 1913 to transport agricultural materials and was electrified in 1934. It gradually became a tourist attraction before being completely rebuilt in its current form in 1974. Its most recent modernisation took place in 2013.

Here, the problem is not a lack of passengers but how to manage demand. With only two cabins, each holding eight people, waiting times can exceed two hours on busy summer days. A reservation system with time slots allows passengers to choose their departure and return times in advance and improves connections with other regional transport services.

Cooperation among cableways

The Niederbauen cableway’s tourist success also benefits smaller facilities. Several cableways in the cantons of Uri, Obwalden and Nidwalden have joined an association. Popular facilities help raise the profile of and preserve others used by only a few mountain families or agricultural businesses. This supplements support from the federal government and the cantons.