The construction of the new cable car to Sněžka should begin in April

Pec pod Sněžkou (Trutnovsko) - The construction of a new cable car to the highest Czech mountain, Sněžka, should resume by the end of April after the winter break. Builders from the BAK Trutnov company are expected to begin constructing the new lower station of the cable car. Dušan Čížek, the general director of BAK, stated this to ČTK. The existing cable car is out of service today until April 27 due to regular spring maintenance.
    The new lower cable car station will be located closer to Pec pod Sněžkou, allowing builders to proceed without restricting the operation of the existing cable car. "The majority of this year's work will be of a traditional type, focusing mainly on constructing the lower station building," said Čížek.
    This year, builders will also demolish the upper station of the cable car. Mid-May will see the end of operations on the second section due to this. "Demolition of the upper station will begin as soon as the weather allows," Čížek stated. A helicopter will transport the demolished material from the station, while a smaller amount might also be carried by the existing cable car. The lower section to the intermediate station on Růžová hora will run for the last time this year on September 2.
    The construction of the actual cable car technology, namely the pylons, motors, and cabins, will take place in 2013. The new facility should be operational in spring 2014. The cable car technology will be supplied by the Italian company Leitner. In total, the town of Pec pod Sněžkou is expected to pay 299 million crowns excluding VAT for the cable car. About 70 percent of this will be covered by subsidies from EU funds.
    Although the construction of the cable car officially began with preparatory work in September, the start of construction was postponed to this year. The reason was that builders found an electrical cable in the path of the new foundations for the pylons, which was supposed to be located elsewhere according to the documentation.
    The new cable car will feature more comfortable four-seat cabins instead of the current open two-seat chairs. The hourly capacity of the cable car will remain at 250 people. The ride to the top should take approximately 16 minutes with the new cable car, reduced from the current 25 minutes due to its higher speed. The cable car will also be better able to withstand wind.

Cable car operations to Sněžka in 2012:

April 12 to 27, 2012	regular maintenance, cable car out of operation
April 28, 2012	commencement of operations in the summer season
May 13, 2012	end of operations on the upper section from Růžová hora to Sněžka
September 2, 2012	end of operations on the lower section from Pec pod Sněžkou to Růžová hora
spring 2014	launch of the new cable car

source: Cable car Sněžka