Sandia Peak Tramway

The Sandia Peak Tramway is an aerial tramway located adjacent to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It stretches from the northeast edge of the city to the crestline of the Sandia Mountains and has the world's third longest single span. It is the longest aerial tram in the Americas.

The Sandia Peak Ski Company was cofounded by Ben Abruzzo and Robert Nordhaus , and Nordhaus was inspired to build a tram to the ski slope after seeing other trams during a trip to Europe. Bell Engineering of Lucerne, Switzerland, constructed the tramway. Entering service on May 7, 1966, the tram makes 10,500 trips per year. The tram is a type known as a "double reversible jigback aerial tramway," where "jigback" implies that when one tram car is ascending, the other is descending. Its two cars are capable of carrying 50 passengers each and have numerous safety and backup systems, such as multiple emergency braking systems and a grounding system that ensures the safety of passengers in the event of a lightning strike. New tram cars were installed in 1986, and new track cables in 2009. New tram cars were again installed in May 2016.

Wikipedia