Fatzer Undertaking Steel Cable Production For “Säntis 2026”

Work on the "Säntis 2026" project is progressing. The aim is to commence train operations with the new cable car in late autumn 2026.

A key milestone in this process is the production of the new suspension and traction cables for the Säntis cable car. They are being manufactured by Fatzer AG in Romanshorn, the world market leader for high-performance steel cables. Production of the steel cables has already been completed so that they can be integrated into the upcoming construction phases.

New dimensions of the tow rope

The new 4,900 m long haul rope is a compacted stranded rope, with the two ends spliced ​​together to form an endless loop. The cabin carriages will be attached directly to the haul rope using a clamp. In the future, a single, continuous steel cable will transport the cabins.

By reducing the number of cables from a single pull cable and a counter cable to a spliced ​​cable loop, the end fixings as connecting elements are eliminated. To prevent the load from the clamps constantly acting on the same points on the cable, the vehicles must be periodically repositioned on the pull cable.

Support cables with integrated fiber optic cables

The supporting cables not only perform the task of suspending the load, but also enable data communication between mountain and valley through the integration of 48 glass fibers in the core of the cable.

In total, the rope production at Fatzer AG for the new traction and support ropes took over 500 hours.

At the mountain station, the support cables are fixed to a concrete bollard. Since the cables need to be moved every 12 years, a cable reel is installed in this area, which holds the necessary cable reserve for the entire service life. The fiber optic cables are connected to a standard cable via a splice closure and routed to the building's electrical installation.

Each lane will exert a cable force of 2,518 kN (approx. 250 t) on the building structure. These tensile forces, doubled compared to the current system, are transferred from the building into the rock structure via appropriate anchors.

Once the cables have been secured on the mountain, they are laid on the support tower and tensioned into the correct position in the valley. Unlike the 1974 cable car, the track cables in the valley are also wound onto a bollard and no longer tensioned using track cable weights.

Spectacular rope transport to Schwägalp

In spring, the steel cables are transported to Schwägalp. In 1935, the material was transported by truck via the only alpine road at the time, through Riglen and Siebenhütten, to Schwägalp. The transport from Herisau to Schwägalp took a total of 43 days. The four support cables were 2,300 meters long and even then weighed 35 tons each.

In preparation for installing the new cable car, the existing cables are being dismantled, laid down, and secured. The new cables will be pulled up the mountain using two old cables that are temporarily connected. For logistical reasons, the necessary pulling and braking machines will be set up in the valley.

"In the 1930s, Niklaus Zwingli from Ennetbühl was lowered down the Säntis wall by his comrades, thus creating the first rope connection between the mountain and the valley. Further, increasingly larger ropes were then pulled along this thin wire rope."