Those wanting to go up Table Mountain via the Cableway will have to wait just over a month to do so. Table Mountain Cableway will be closed for scheduled annual maintenance from Monday, July 8 until Sunday, August 18.
The six-week shutdown sees Cableway’s internal technical staff work alongside riggers and equipment experts from Switzerland.
Their work includes a mechanical overhaul of the rotating floors and cabin door mechanisms in the cable cars, and the replacement of the heel and haul ropes, which pull the cable cars up and down the mountain.
Cableway’s Technical Manager Emile Streicher said the maintenance schedule aligns with the highest global cableway standards set by the Swiss Governing Body for Cableways (BAV.)
Cableway technical manager Emile Streicher said the maintenance schedule aligns with the highest global cableway standards set by the Swiss Governing Body for Cableways (BAV.)
“According to this standard, the cars require an overhaul every six years because they carry the load at high altitude. Similarly, the heel and haul ropes have a limited lifetime," he said.
The team will also service the main gearbox, generators, backup generators, and conduct electrical drive, hydraulics and brake system maintenance.
An illustration by Gary Hirson of Changing the Lines that offer insight into the upcoming maintenance.
The Cableway’s managing director, Wahida Parker, encourages South Africans, 18 years and older, who celebrate their birthday within the closure period to redeem their complimentary Cableway ticket one week prior (1 – 7 July) or the week after (19 – 25 August) the maintenance period.
The 3-for-1 Kidz Season special will also be available to locals before and after the maintenance period, seven days a week until 30 September 2019.