India’s first urban public transport ropeway is gearing up for launch in the ancient city of Varanasi, marking a significant milestone in the country’s urban mobility landscape. The ambitious ₹807-crore Kashi Ropeway project, operating under the Centre’s Parvatmala Pariyojana, will soon begin passenger operations on its initial stretch, fundamentally transforming commuting for pilgrims, tourists, and residents alike in one of the world’s most congested cities.
Authorities are currently finalizing the launch preparations for the first phase of the 3.75-kilometre system. This inaugural section will connect the Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station to the heart of the city, Godowlia Chowk, which serves as the primary access point for the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat. The entire ropeway route incorporates five key stations: Cantt, Kashi Vidyapeeth (Bharat Mata Mandir), Rath Yatra, Girja Ghar (a technical stop), and Godowlia.
This cutting-edge system will drastically cut travel time between these two points from a chaotic 45-50 minutes by road to a swift 16 minutes in the air. Officials expect full-scale operations to commence around the end of the year, despite minor delays at the final station due to site challenges near Godowlia.
The Kashi Ropeway will boast a massive capacity to carry 3,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd), effectively shifting a large volume of daily commuters from the notoriously narrow, crowded city roads. This high throughput is achievable through an impressive fleet of approximately 153 panoramic gondolas, engineered by the Swiss firm Bartholet. Each gondola accommodates 10 passengers, and the system is designed to dispatch a car every 90-120 seconds, ensuring a continuous and accessible flow of transport throughout its 16 hours of daily operation.
Crucially, the system features state-of-the-art European technology, with some cabin designs even attributed to the Porsche Design Studio. The stations at Cantt, Vidyapeeth, and Rath Yatra are already complete, and trial runs involving the panoramic cabins have been underway with safety experts, fine-tuning the operational efficiency. This project is a pioneering effort, establishing Varanasi as only the third city globally, after Mexico City and Bolivia, to deploy a ropeway for urban public transportation.
The urban ropeway system is not merely a transport mechanism; it represents a major push toward sustainable and innovative infrastructure under the National Ropeways Development Programme, ‘Parvatmala Pariyojana’. By providing an overhead, eco-friendly alternative, the project directly addresses the perennial issues of traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution plaguing the spiritual city.
The system will not only ease the journey for the over one lakh daily pilgrims and tourists visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Dham but will also offer a stunning aerial view of the ancient ghats and the sprawling cityscape, turning a stressful commute into a scenic journey. The establishment of this infrastructure sets a precedent for many other Indian cities facing similar connectivity and traffic challenges. The authorities remain focused on completing the challenging construction work at the last station near Godowlia to enable the city to fully leverage this revolutionary public transit system.