Line Structures

APM Tower supporting track ropes. Tramway Engineering concept 8 passenger mono cable detachable lift in Columbia

The towers for the APM look similar to the traditional ropeway. They are spaced at intervals that keep the carriers above a certain elevation.  The tower spacing depends on the terrain and clearances.  They can vary from 100 m to over 2.5 km (Kitzbuhel 3S).  


The top of the tower is different from a typical mono-cable gondola. In the APM the tower has to support four track ropes in addition to the hauling cable.  In this design, the carriers are supported by the track ropes and pulled along with the haul rope. Because the carrier weight is transferred directly to the track saddles, there are no rotating sheaves on the APM tower other than those that support the deal load of the haul cable.

 

One of the benefits of the APM system is the ability to construct the towers without major interruption of existing surface traffic.  The tower foundations are typically shallow spread footers that can be quickly constructed.  The actual towers are manufactured off-site.  The towers are set by crane in a matter of hours.