Amsterdam supports cable car crossing over IJ river
The Amsterdam office of mayor and aldermen officially gave support for the construction of a cable car crossing over the IJ river. This will be a public transport connection, starting from the Isolatorweg subway station, that can transport thousands of passengers per day, initiators Stichting IJbaan said to Het Parool.
Amsterdam signed a letter of intent with Stichting IJbaan, which means that "they will actively cooperate" in realizing this cable car connection, the foundation said.
Each cabin on the cable track will be able to transport up to 35 people, or 10 people and their bikes. According to Stichting IJbaan, the cable car crossing could transport up to 100 thousand people a day. The construction of the cable car will cost around 120 million euros, and will have to be paid from private resources. Stichting IJbaan is already in talks with possible financiers.
Construction of the cable car can take place alongside the construction of the two bridges over the IJ - one on the east flank near Java Island and one west of the city center from Houthavens to NDSM. The advantage of the cable car is that its construction is much less intensive than the construction of a bridge, Wim Wessels and Bas Dekker of Stichting IJbaan said to Parool. The cable car could be operating by 2026 or 2027. The first bridge will be done by 2040 at the earliest.
According Wessels and Dekker, the cable car and bridge will function well side by side. The direct connection to the Isolatorweg metro station makes it easy to transfer to other public transport. "In addition to crossing the IJ, the cable car takes you across the Westhaven railway yard in one go to the subway in the direction of Sloterdijk and beyond." And this cable car is emphatically another form of public transport, they added. "The image that people may have that it is a tourist attraction is not correct. Tourists are also welcome of course, but the cable car is intended for a better connection between West and Noord. This could be crucial for the future Haven-Stad district, where car use will be discouraged."
