The stations are planned to be partially integrated into larger buildings. © POMA

Cities, SI urban 2/2025, Tourism

San Salvador: Poma builds first of four cable cars

“Mejicanos” – this will be the name of El Salvador’s first cable car. The installation by French manufacturer POMA will be one of four cable cars operating in the capital, San Salvador. Construction has already begun.

Thomas Surrer

9. December 2025

San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, has around 316,000 inhabitants in the city center and more than 1.74 million in the metropolitan area, making it one of the largest cities in Central America.

To improve the population’s quality of life and mobility, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) is pursuing a master plan that, in addition to metro and bus lines, also includes four cable cars: one will connect the Bicentenario Park with the proximity of El Boqueron Volcano, one will serve the dense district of
Soyapango, one will heads south and one will run through the city center.

Master plan with four cable car lines (in green):

One goes to the volcano (Boquerón), one runs through the city center (Mejicanos), one heads south (Los Planes) and one will serve the east district (Soyapango).

Intermodal cable car

The line through the city center is the first to be implemented – by the French manufacturer POMA. It will be the country’s first cable car, extending over three kilometers and comprising four stations. Each stop connects key points of downtown San Salvador:

The first station serves the “Mejicanos” district, the second largest district with more than 150,000 inhabitants; it also handles all traffic coming from the north of the metropolitan area.
The second station provides access to the University of El Salvador (“UES”).
The third station, “Centro de Gobierno,” is located among various public administrative buildings and near a medical services area.
The final stop, in the city center, is planned as an intermodal hub connected to the future Metro Line 1.

Each station will integrate feeder bus routes as part of a reorganization plan for conventional urban public transport.

The cable car will have a transport capacity of 3,500 people per hour per direction, ensuring fast, safe, clean, and comfortable travel.

The stations will become mobility hubs.

Cable car to operate in 2027

Transport Minister Romeo Rodríguez confirmed that construction will begin in October 2025, last 18 months, and be completed by mid-2027 – despite dense urban development and heavy traffic.

Manufaturer POMA has taken appropriate measures, as project manager Guillaume Ployon finally emphasizes: “Among other things, we are implementing a space-optimized cable car line with few double-head towers capable of carrying higher loads at specific points.”