Congestion-free travel in comfort with leading-edge design and technology from leitner in pisa/italy and zurich/switzerland
25 October 2023
The 90,000-inhabitant city in Tuscany (Italy) suffered from immensely high levels of traffic, with commuters, tourists and students doubling the population figure. A new age was dawned in 2017: PisaMover relieves the Tuscan city of almost all commuter road traffic. In addition to this, the ropeway plays an important role in local transport and improves connections to the existing public bus network. The ropeway takes passengers from Galileo Galilei airport to the main train station in the city center in five minutes.
In Pisa, the route from the airport into the city center was particularly at risk of congestion. The PisaMover by LEITNER reduces flows of traffic on this critical route, shortening the travel time between Aeroporto Galileo Galilei at the southern outskirts of Pisa and Stazione Centrale to just five minutes. Each of the two trains consists of three connected cabins, and offers space for 107 passengers. Both the vehicles of the electrical MiniMetro and the stations were designed by Italian star architect Adolfo Natalini. The bogy on which the vehicles run is also a special new development: It was developed in cooperation with the University of Pisa and makes the ride particularly comfortable.
SILENT AND ECONOMICAL
As a result, PisaMover is another example of the successful use of urban ropeway installations from LEITNER, sustainably solving complex traffic problems. People are sure, that this installation is a model of innovative urban mobility that has a positive impact on the entire city.
The MiniMetro in Pisa was the first ropeway of its kind equipped with the gearless drive system LEITNER DirectDrive. Its outstanding features include low consumption and emissions, as well as low noise levels. The green colored stations symbolize this aspect, which is so important for urban regions. The two vehicles shuttle back and forth, with each travelling on its own line. The entire ropeway is operated fully automatically and can be controlled flexibly.
NEW INFRASTRUCTURE CONCEPT WITH COMMUTER CAR PARK
The Park&Ride service reduces road traffic in the city, with a commuter car park for 1,400 cars near the midway station. Situated close to an important and large highway exit, commuters from the region can park their car and travel to the city center conveniently in a few minutes with the PisaMover. It also benefits tourists by taking them to the train station or airport rapidly and inexpensively or letting them make the journey from the airport into the center in a few minutes. The ropeway is part of a comprehensive infrastructure concept: A new network of bike paths was built, pedestrian walkways were improved, new rotaries were added and a dangerous railroad crossing was removed.
Skymetro – the ideal airport transport solution in Switzerland
Zurich is a financial center, cultural city, tourism destination and world champion in quality of life. Since 2003, the city has also been a MiniMetro location: at Zurich Airport, the Skymetro connects the Airside Center with Dock E. The Skymetro is the first of its kind in Switzerland. The Skymetro floats on a 1.5 millimeter high air cushion and travels through two parallel tunnels. Travel time is just over two minutes. The two trains each consist of two carriages, each carrying 112 passengers, with the option of attaching an additional carriage to each if required. In 2006, 160 light boxes were installed in both tunnel tubes, the individual images of which can be combined into a short film for the passengers during the journey, as in a flip book.
