Bonn Cable Car Project - Further Cooperation Agreement Between The City And Municipal Utilities
Together with the Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB), the federal city of Bonn would like to plan, build and operate a cable car from Beuel across the Rhine up to Venusberg. Against this background, the city council commissioned the city administration to conclude a cooperation agreement for the cable car based on a draft developed together with the SWB.
“The Bonn cable car would be the first urban cable car in Germany that is integrated into local public transport and can be used with a normal local transport ticket such as the Deutschlandticket. With Stadtwerke Bonn we have a strong and reliable partner at our side for our cable car. With our project, we in Bonn are more advanced than any other municipality in Germany. Together we want to make the cable car a success as part of the mobility transition in Bonn,” emphasizes Mayor Katja Dörner.
“With the construction of the cable car, Bonn's local transport will be supplemented by an attractive connection from Beuel across the Rhine to the Venusberg. I am pleased that we will continue to advance this lighthouse project together with the Bonn municipal utilities,” says city planning officer Helmut Wiesner.
The cooperation agreement regulates the further procedure and the next steps in the cable car project. “The cable car will be another milestone in the transport transition in Bonn. We look forward to soon being able to expand our existing mobility portfolio with an autonomous, electric and innovative offering,” says Anja Wenmakers, Managing Director of SWB Bus and Bahn.
Current status and next steps
Next, for example, the technical planning must be further revised and refined. After consultation with affected residents, the route of the route will be adjusted. This leads to changes compared to the first draft, as in the case of the relocation of the final stations on the site of the university hospital and on Schießbergweg in Beuel-Ramersdorf.
At the same time, preliminary consultations are underway with a number of authorities and interest groups. Specifically, communication with Deutsche Bahn, the SWB, the state aviation authority, operators of radio links, various departments of the Cologne district government responsible for the subsequent plan approval process, the Rhineland Regional Association, the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority and some on site directly through stations or essential Those affected by the overflight have been recorded. The city administration is currently drawing up specifications for all cable car stations with additional uses such as mobile stations, bicycle parking facilities, bike sharing, etc.
The Rheinaue station and the section of the route running in the park area are located in a protected landscape area; it is under the copyright of the landscape architect Gottfried Hansjakob. In the meantime, the administration, together with the author and an architect commissioned by him, has developed an exemplary preliminary plan for the harmonious landscape integration of the station into the Rheinauenpark.
In the meantime, a number of preliminary reports were commissioned or developed to prepare the tender documents for the functional tender from the cable car manufacturer:
- A meteorological report for the entire route to determine the climatic conditions (wind, ice, snow, thunderstorms, etc.) as a basis for dimensioning and operating the cable car has now been prepared.
- A special aerodynamic report including a wind tunnel test was developed to determine the influences of the Post Tower and its neighboring buildings on the wind conditions in the nearby cable car route section.
- A preliminary geological report/subsoil report has been commissioned. For this purpose, exploration of the ground along the route is currently taking place through test drilling.
- In order to be able to determine and assess the possible environmental impacts of the cable car project, a report on environmental protection and legal services is to be commissioned during March.
- The tender documents for a preliminary report on the subject of noise insulation have been drawn up and potential bidders have already been invited to submit offers. The administration is currently expecting an order to be placed at the end of March 2024.
- Since parts of the cable car route are located in designated flood areas or potential flood areas, a water law and hydrological report is planned for mid-2024.
At the same time, the Bonn municipal utilities are taking care of the procurement process for appointing a project controller and specialist planners. An order based on the cooperation agreement is expected in the first half of 2024.
It is planned that the project manager will prepare the manufacturer's functional tender together with the municipal utilities and coordinate the preparation of the documents necessary for the plan approval process by the cable car manufacturer. After the functional award, the preliminary reports must then be updated in collaboration with the selected manufacturer of the cable car system based on their implementation planning, so that the plan approval process can then be carried out with the detailed planning in order to obtain building rights.
Participation and dialogue
Together with the communications agency IFOK, the city of Bonn will offer further participation and dialogue formats on the cable car project. Communication with neighbors along the route and interest groups, etc. will continue in 2024. Among other things, a residents' workshop is currently being prepared for April 2024.
Information about the cable car on the Internet
The city administration has published a comprehensive range of information online about the cable car project, which is updated regularly.
