Cities, SI Urban 2/2025
Remec in Berlin: External operations manager for cable cats
The cable car is 1.5 kilometers long, has three stations, and can transport up to 3,000 people per hour in each direction in 65 cabins: Since 2017, an urban cable car has been running in the German capital Berlin. It connects the Kienbergpark subway station via the mid-station “Wolkenhain” at the summit of Kienberg to the main entrance of the “Gardens of the World” at Blumberger Damm.
Built for the International Garden Exhibition (IGA), the 10-person monocable gondola serves to access the park, transport residents of the Marzahn-Hellersdorf district, and is an attraction in itself. From March to the end of September 2025, the operator– LEITNER Seilbahn Berlin GmbH – counted over 612,000 passengers.
Ride with a view
The Berlin cable car runs over the “Gardens of the World.”
Urgent need for a quick solution
The cable car runs frequently: about 2,000 operating hours per year, and between March and October, it runs seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. High availability is therefore essential. The situation became critical in summer 2024, when the cable car suddenly had no operations manager and faced a backlog of maintenance tasks.
“Berlin isn’t a cable car country; finding a new operations manager here is almost impossible,” says Norbert Lippold, site manager of LEITNER Seilbahn Berlin GmbH.
His team of 17 employees – five of them technicians – was also new to the cable car industry. A rapid solution was needed.
Johannes Stadler, CEO of REMEC, markets the maintenance software SAMBESI.
The cable car manufacturer LEITNER then referred the operator to the independent company REMEC. The Swiss company is primarily known for SAMBESI, maintenance software for cable cars, but also offers “external operations manager” services, according to CEO Johannes Stadler: “In Switzerland, we already manage 25 destinations and are responsible for the safe operation of their systems.”
Thomas Oppeneiger works for REMEC as an external operations manager for cable cars.
Assessment on site
As with every inquiry, REMEC first assessed the Berlin cable car installation before submitting a final offer. “We spend two to three days inspecting the technology and maintenance documentation on site and conducting tests. Minimum standards must be met; otherwise, we sometimes decline a mandate,” says Thomas Oppeneiger, REMEC’s external operations manager.
The Berlin cable car met the requirements, yet almost everything was reassessed: “Together with REMEC, we analyzed operations, maintenance, and documentation from the ground up and created an investment plan,” emphasizes Lippold. With aging infrastructure, more measures are always needed, and Berlin is also working on a new cable car law that takes the urban perspective more into account.
Norbert Lippold
Site Manager LEITNER Seilbahn Berlin GmbH
“We are very satisfied with the external operations managers from REMEC – both professionally and personally. They guide and advise us clearly and on equal footing – with extensive experience and a vast network. We are also impressed with SAMBESI: the maintenance software makes our work much easier and gives us an excellent overview.”
Responsibilities clearly defined
In August 2024, REMEC took over the technical management of the Berlin cable car. Three cable car experts are officially registered with authorities as responsible, with Thomas Oppeneiger in charge.
On a rotational basis, a REMEC expert is on site almost every week for three days to guide and train the Berlin team, monitor operations, and organize maintenance tasks. “We are also reachable at any time by phone, video chat, and remote maintenance,” says Oppeneiger. Responsibilities also include organizing tools and materials and supervising external service providers, such as rope work.
REMEC is not responsible for economic operations or personnel management but can provide advice if requested. The cable car experts have extensive independent knowledge, experience with numerous systems, and a broad professional network.
Comprehensive activities
REMEC experts are also on site during mountain exercises.
Introduction of SAMBESI
“One of the first measures was the implementation of our maintenance software SAMBESI,” emphasizes Oppeneiger. Previously, maintenance was organized on paper. Now, with SAMBESI, all tasks are planned and documented digitally – accurately, comprehensively, and on schedule.
The operations log is now digitally certified, and disturbances are efficiently managed with the “Events” module. “With SAMBESI, we also generate an availability report for the operator,” adds Oppeneiger. Spare parts and contracts are also managed using SAMBESI.
REMEC remains onboard
In the long term, the Berlin cable car aims to employ its own operations managers, and the first employees are already enrolled in training. However, it will take about four more years before this is achieved, and even then, REMEC will continue to provide consulting.
Thomas Oppeneiger is particularly pleased, for a very special reason: “Since we are on the operator’s side, we can optimally further develop SAMBESI. In daily operations, we notice best where the software still has potential!”
