Ropeways in Nepal

Ropeways in Nepal, which mainly refer to the aerial ropeways, are used for human and cargo transport. In the ‘Nepal Country Report’ of 1976 by the world bank concluded that construction and maintenance of roads in mountainous are costly due to hilly terrain, and thus other means of transport should be studied mainly indicating to the ropeways. However, ropeways have not gained significant popularity over roadways. In the Ninth Five-year Plan ropeway was encouraged with and involvement of the private sector. But no provision in the national budget was made for ropeway development. Nonetheless, private sector has initiated the construction and operation of ropeways mainly in lucrative places such as religious temple.

History
The first ropeway to carry cargo was Halchowk-Lainchour ropeway which was used to transport stones from the quarry to build palaces. The famous, Dhorsing-chisapnai-Chandragiri ropeway passing into Kathmandu was built by Chandra Shamser Rana in 1922. It was upgraded in 1964 to reach to Hetauda with a total length of 42 km with technical and financial assistance from USAID.

Types of ropeways in Nepal
Following are the types of ropeways based on the operation mechanism and types of transport.

Tar pul or Ghirling
Also known as twin, these are rudimentary ropeways used in lieu of bridges to cross rivers. These are generally installed by the local community based on necessity. As of May 2004, there are 25 Tar Pul in Kavre, Gorkha, Myagdi, Udaypur, Chitwan and Lamjung

Gravity Ropeways
A gravity ropeway operates by using potential energy with mechanical power. A weight lowered from a higher elevation lifts the cargo. Ropeways of this type were first used in Mustang to transport apples. Since then they have been installed in four other locations: Gorkha, Tanahun, Kalikot and Achham. Most of the construction ropeways fall in this category.

Cargo Ropeways
Cargo ropeways are used in Nepal to transport goods from one place to another. The first ropeway, Halchowk-Lainchour, was in fact a cargo ropeway. The most famous cargo ropeway was the Kathmandu-Hetauda Ropeway, which is now out of operation.

Passenger ropeways
Mostly electrically operated, these kinds of ropeways or Cable Cars are used by passengers. The first of this kind was Manakamana Cable Car, established in 1998.

List of ropeways in Nepal
This list does not include the smaller ghirlings, which are more numerous.

Projects under consideration

 * Birethanti to Muktinath (83,000 m long)

Accidents and safety

 * In cargo type ropeways, accidents such as falling off of the bucket (as in Adhi Khola and Jimruk Khola ropeways) usually are not fatal.
 * Four people riding in the ropeway car at Bhapak Ropeway died when the hauling cable snapped on 7 May 1999.
 * The Chandragiri cable car stopped in mid-air once for 40 minutes and twice for 10 minutes on separate occasions in 2020, inducing panic among the passengers.