Tests begin on the Téléo urban cable car in Toulouse

The tests campaign began on Wednesday 28 July in Toulouse, between the Paul Sabatier university and the Bellevue high school. The first two Téléo cabins have now taken to the skies and the people of Toulouse are getting used to seeing this 3-km long line taking shape above the city.

SYSTRA, which belongs to the Design, Build and Maintain consortium led by the manufacturer Poma, in partnership with Bouygues Travaux Publics Régions France, SETI, Séquences architecture et urbanisme and ALTISERVICE, is carrying out this project for Tisséo Collectivités.

The aim of these tests is to check that each piece of equipment is working properly, on the ground, along the cables and in the cabins.

Charles-Alexandre Cayatte, SYSTRA Head of project

The urban cable car, an original solution for sustainable mobility

The special feature of the Téléo is that it is a detachable 3S cable car, i.e. with two carrying cables and one hauling cable (3S for ‘3 Seile’ in German, meaning three cables). This is a technology that is quite rare in the world, used only on a dozen or so lines, and which combines the technique of detachable lifts with that of single-cable cable cars. The result is maximum comfort for passengers. The pylon passages shake as little as possible and the speed of travel is higher (20 km/h) than with other systems, while at the same time having low sensitivity to wind.

The environmental issues involved in this project are significant: it passes over the floodplain of the Garonne, a Natura 2000 area, a Regional Nature Reserve, a Biotope protection site and the protection perimeter of a historical monument. The Téléo line has a low environmental impact, with an extremely small footprint. Users in the Toulouse conurbation will have access to a fast, sustainable and reliable transport service.

 Julien Jamet, responsible for environmental monitoring of the site

Saving time with a majestic infrastructure and reaching for the clouds

Designed entirely by SYSTRA France’s SGC teams, the five pylons of the Téléo line are unique in France. Their appearance, in the shape of a four-pointed sceptre, was developed in a wind tunnel and differs from conventional lattice structures of this type, while incorporating the wiring brackets required for operational safety. Majestic in the Toulouse sky, they are built in metal caissons and reach, with their foundations, up to 74 metres in height.

Thanks to the Téléo line, travel times will be considerably reduced: only 10 minutes to cover the 3km of the line, compared with at least 30 minutes by public transport outside peak hours, between Paul Sabatier university and the Oncopole, a cancer research centre. This will provide the southern suburbs and the whole of the Toulouse conurbation with an efficient, high-frequency mobility service to achieve an effective modal shift.

Téléo is a pioneering project in a fast-growing market, and we intend to build on this success as well as our excellent relationship with the manufacturer, Poma, to bring other urban cable cars to life.

Charles-Alexandre Cayatte, SYSTRA Head of project

Key features – Téléo cable car

• Length: 3km
• Number of stations: 3
• Number of cabins: 15 Poma Sigma 3S Symphony – Pininfarina
• Capacity of each cabin: 34 passengers
• 1 garage for the cabins (Paul Sabatier university side)
• Travel time:
  • 10 minutes from terminus to terminus
  • 90 seconds between each cabin
• Number of pylons: 5
• Height of pylons: from 30 to 70.5 metres
• Speed of cabins: 20km/h
• Forecast ridership:
  • 8,000 passengers per day
  • 1,500 passengers per hour and per direction in rush hour
• Relay parking of 500 places at Oncopole
• Commissioning: end 2021