Grande Motte (tramway) explained

Grande Motte tramway
Elev Low:3034 m
Elev High:3456 m
Begin:1975
Carrier Cap:115 +1
Trip Duration:5 minutes
Line Length:1640 m
No Towers:1
Max Gradient:55%

Téléphériques de la Grande Motte is an aerial tramway in the French ski-resort Espace Killy. The tramway climbs the mountain peak with the same name in Tignes.

The valley station can be reached using the funicular du Perce-Neige or a combination of chairlifts. From the mountain station one can enter the ski-slopes or climb to the top of the mountain some 300 metres higher.

Technical details

The system has two main cabins or gondolas, each carried on two main cables and a loop of a pulling cable and a secondary cable on the valley side of each cabin.

The mountain station is an open construction with a wide pulley returning the pull rope and the anchorage of the four main cables.

The powerplant is in the valley station and consists of two groups of electric powered motors, gearbox and a built-in hydraulic motor for emergency operation. The hydraulic motors can be operated using a diesel engine to run the oil-pump.

Source and links

Details of this system are obtained from this page from the Ski-World database and this report on Remontees-Mechaniques.net (translated version)