Amsterdam gives green light for cable car over IJ between West and Noord

After years of delay, the municipality of Amsterdam is finally giving the green light for a cable car connection over the IJ river between the Noord and West districts, sources told Parool. Construction should start in 2025, with the cable cars operating from 2027.

According to the newspaper’s sources, coalition parties PvdA, GroenLinks, and D66 approved the construction of the cable car on the west side of the city during negotiations on the Spring Memorandum - the spring update to the city’s budget. The memorandum will be presented on Thursday.

The cable car over the IJ will connect the NDSM wharf in Noord and the Haven-Stad district in West, which is yet to be built. The connection will transport 5,500 people over the IJ per hour. In Amsterdam-West, the cable car stop will be at the Hemknoop, where there will also be a metro stop in 2027 as part of the Ringlijn.

The extra transport over the IJ is badly needed. The ferries are often already full at peak times, and the city expects that they won’t be able to cope with the growing population after 2030. The city council would like the use of the cable car to be free of charge, according to Parool. But whether that will be possible remains to be seen.

Before the past year’s high inflation and skyrocketing construction costs, the project costs were estimated at 90 million euros. That will likely turn out to be much higher. The cable car is funded by private investors.

The cable line’s gondolas will be approximately 3.5 by 3.5 meters in size and can carry 32 passengers, or 14 passengers, and six bicycles. Travel time over the IJ will be just over 5 minutes. The plan is to run 38 gondolas simultaneously, with one leaving a stop every 21 seconds.