The Municipality of Amsterdam has given its support for the 1.5km IJbaan Cable Car designed by Dutch architect UNStudio to link two growing residential areas, Amsterdam-West and Amsterdam-Noord.
The original route of the cable car has been modified since it was announced in 2018. It will now be extended to connect with the Isolatorweg metro station and to make way for a planned bridge.
The €120m project will be funded by private investors.
Amsterdam’s municipal government will work on a feasibility study with the city’s transport sector, to estimate how many passengers will use the service. It was originally estimated that when fully operational, the cable car would carry 5,500 people an hour.
Attending a signing ceremony last week, Ben van Berkel, UNStudio’s founder, said: “I’m incredibly pleased that the municipality has given its official support for this extremely sustainable public transport system,.
“Amsterdam is growing enormously and such an ‘air bridge’ contributes to the development of the entire region. Transport by air also relieves the increasing pressure on traffic and the existing transport network on the ground. It is not only efficient but also fun. People are going to see and experience their city in a whole new way."
Bas Dekker, the project’s co-initiator, said: “We are aiming for a fully fledged public transport connection, not a tourist attraction. (It will be) a useful addition to the planned bridges and existing ferries.”
The project was originally due to be completed by the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam in 2025.
Images courtesy of UNStudio/Plompmozes
