Sergei Sobyanin opens first cable car in Moscow

A cable car across the Moskva River has opened in Moscow. It connects the Luzhniki Olympic Complex with Vorobyovy Gory and Kosygina Street. The cable car is scheduled to open for passengers on 27 November. Sergei Sobyanin was among the first to use it.

“Vorobyovy Gory and Luzhniki are being transformed right in front of our eyes. Luzhniki is right behind us, and today it looks different than several years ago. The Luzhniki Sports Complex has been renovated and the rhythmic gymnastics centre is under construction now. The water sports centre looks almost ready. Several other facilities are under construction as well. Of course, it is a major sports and recreational centre. It is similar for Vorobyovy Gory. This area should in fact return to its status as the main Moscow ski and winter sports centre. These two large and important Moscow sport centres are now connected by another means of transport, one that Moscow has never seen before. We have a cable car that connects Vorobyovy Gory and Luzhniki,” Sobyanin said.

According to the mayor, once the cable car opens it will only take five minutes to get from the Vorobyovy Gory observation point to Luzhniki. Before this, it was almost a 20 minute drive.

The first chairlift and ski school

The first chairlift opened at Vorobyovy Gory 65 years ago: in 1953, three years after the observation point was built. It was designed to haul skiers to the four ski jumps built the same year. The 340-metre-long chairlift had two stations: one on the embankment and one near the Vorobyovy Gory vista point. A training base, later named the Stolitsa Russian Ski School, was built on the slalom slope for Olympic reserve and national team athlete training.

However, in the late 1980s – early 90s, the entire infrastructure was growing old. Gradually, it was closed, until the chairlift was finally torn down in the summer of 2016.

“Can you imagine that there were no WCs, showers or changing rooms? At least 700 children trained here. Of course, it didn’t serve modern demands. And, of course, the chairlift and the jump, which was also in poor condition, were out of date. The jump was closed. And the ski run was lost. In fact, everything needed renovation, but really, everything should have been torn down and rebuilt,” said Chairman of the Vorobyovy Gory Sports Complex Supervisory Board Dmitry Svishchev.

Three stations, 45 gondolas, 1,600 passengers per hour

The new cable car project was initiated in January 2017. Construction began in May 2017 and was completed this November.

The first Moscow cable car is 720 metres long. There are three stations with unique architecture for each.

The Vorobyovy Gory station is located on Kosygina Street near the famous observation point. This is where the ski slope will be in the winter. The second station is called Novaya Liga and is located on Vorobyovskaya Embankment. It will mostly be used by skiers and snowboarders to get back up the hill. Luzhniki station is located on Luzhnetskaya Embankment near the stadium. A MosMarket food court has already opened at the site. There are 20 cafes with various cuisines covering 650 sq m. From Thursday through Sunday, live music is performed in the food court. There will be two large terraces with a view of the Moskva River and Vorobyovy Gory in the summer.

There are 35 covered gondolas with eight seats each. The gondolas were designed by Porsche Design Studio. They have media screens, LED illumination and hooks for bicycles, skis and snowboards. Passengers will also be able to use audio guides in four languages (English, Chinese, German and Russian).

There are also 10 additional chairlifts with four seats each for athletes. They will run on the smaller cable section between Vorobyovskaya Embankment and the observation point.

“Children and Moscow’s   Sports Department athletes will be able to use the cable car for free. This was the main demand of the Moscow Government and the Mayor. The investors have a good programme; they signed the agreement and undertook the commitment to provide free rides for athletes,” Dmitry Svishchev noted.

The cable cars can carry up to 1,600 passengers an hour and will be running all year in almost any weather. The system can withstand wind and precipitation.

Moscow’s new cable cars will have several functions: first, they will serve as a tourist attraction because the gondolas have an excellent view of the city and the Moskva River. Second, it will be used as transport: it will take five minutes to ride from Vorobyovy Gory to Luzhniki Stadium (the drive takes about 20 minutes). The third function is sports: it will be used as a chairlift for skiers and snowboarders.

The cable car system was built without city funding.

Restoring the main Moscow ski centre

Vorobyovy Gory is a unique complex for winter sports. In 1926, the first official national ski jump competitions were held in the village of Gladyshevo near Vorobyovy Gory. In 1935, the first USSR ski jump championship and the second USSR Alpine ski championships were held at Vorobyovy Gory.

The city continues the comprehensive improvement of Vorobyovy Gory and restoration of the winter sports centre. In 2017–2018 Andreyevskaya Embankment was improved: the asphalt was repaired, the pavements (sidewalks) paved and lawns planted. A jogging lane, streetlamps, planters and rubbish bins were added on the embankment.

Anti-landslide measures were taken on the slopes of Vorobyovy Gory. The section of Kosygina Street between Mosfilmovskaya Street and Vernadskogo Prospekt as well as Michurinsky Prospekt between Kosygina Street and Lomonosovsky Prospekt were renovated as part of the preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

A comprehensive improvement programme for Vorobyovskaya Embankment is scheduled for next year.

Landscape lighting is the main feature of the new image of Vorobyovy Gory. Over 9,000 LED lamps glowing in various colours and modes have been installed along over 3,000 km of Vorobyovskaya Embankment.

According to Dmitry Svishchev, a 75-metre-high ski jump will be built next year. A new sport school will be completed at the same time.

In addition, there are plans to create three ski slopes for sport and amateur skiing, a snowboard jump, a ski school, snowboard park, extreme sports park, ski run, a training base, a roller rink and a ropes course as well as a street sports service centre, sleigh track, draglift, an information centre and a sports hall of fame walk.

Skiers and snowboarders as well as ski jumpers and Nordic combined athletes will be able to train at the renewed complex.

According to the International Ski Federation (FIS), the Vorobyovy Gory Sports Complex will comply with all the demands to host the most prestigious Russian and international ski, ski jump, Nordic combined and snowboard competitions. This winter Vorobyovy Gory will host several international competitions under the auspices of the FIS: the Luge World Cup in January and the Freestyle Ski World Cup in February. In addition, Grand Prix de Russie, a leg of the World Snowboard Tour, and several other competitions will be held there.