Speaker debate (from left): Moderator Bruno Walter, Benjamin Croze, Salah Regan, Alexandre Magny, Stephan Tischler, and Francis Grass. © SI/Surrer

Cities

Industry Trade Fair Highlights Urban Cable Cars

As part of Mountain Planet - the international trade fair for mountain tourism held in Grenoble, France - urban cable cars were also a key topic on the agenda. The "City Cable Car Solutions 3CS" conference brought together five compelling speakers and around 70 participants. Here is a first look at the event.

Thomas Surrer

29. April 2026

Congress Messe Innsbruck from Austria, the organizer of the leading cable car trade fair Interalpin, brought a pioneering platform for urban ropeway solutions to France on April 22, 2026.

Following its successful premiere in Innsbruck in 2025, “City Cable Car Solutions 3CS” was presented for the first time as part of the Mountain Planet trade fair in Grenoble. The central congress program was aimed at manufacturers, transport operators, authorities, and political decision-makers.

Around 70 participants gathered in the Amphithéâtre Jean Prouvé at the exhibition center – and we from SI Urban were also on-site as an official media partner. The event was supported by the two major cable car manufacturers, Doppelmayr and POMA.

From the mountains to the cities:

Mobility researcher Stephan Tischler compiled scientific findings on urban cable cars.

Theoretical Insights…

The session was opened by Salah Regan, Manager of Knowledge and Innovation at the UITP (International Association of Public Transport). He made a strong case for cable cars as a future mode of urban transport.

To achieve this goal, cable cars must be integrated into transport policy. Alexandre Magny, Director General of GART (the French association of transport authorities), spoke about the challenges, past experiences, and future prospects regarding this complex topic.

Scientific findings on cable cars as urban transport systems were then provided by Stephan Tischler, a mobility researcher at the University of Innsbruck. Among other things, he spoke about social urbanism and how cable cars can improve city life in multiple ways.

Of towers and stations:

Benjamin Croze from Île-de-France Mobilités addressed fascinating details regarding the urban cable car Câble 1 near Paris.

…and from the Field

Benjamin Croze from the mobility service provider Île-de-France Mobilités provided practical insights. He was leadingly involved in the realization of Câble 1, the first urban cable car in the Île-de-France region.

He spoke, among other things, about the demanding overlap of multiple transport routes (road/rail/cable car), about “green corridors” created during cable car construction, and about urban specifics, such as commissioned graffiti art for the tower foundations.

Francis Grass, Chairman of Tisséo Ingéniérie, reported on the second major urban cable car in France – the Téléo in Toulouse. He outlined the path from the initial idea to implementation – and why, in this specific case, the cable car was the only viable option.

Like his Parisian colleague Benjamin Croze, he also emphasized the intensive design work on the towers and reported on plans to extend the cable car to the east and west – initial feasibility studies have already begun.

SI Urban on-site:

Our trade magazine is now an official media partner of the congress format “City Cable Solution 3CS”.

Debate on Privacy and Perceived Safety

At the end of the conference, all speakers returned to the podium to answer questions from the audience, moderated by Interalpin representative Bruno Walter. The discussion primarily focused on the topic of privacy along cable car routes, the comparative costs of various modes of transport, and the matter of perceived safety inside cable car cabins.