New ropeway with a modified line

Although the decision to replace the chairlift with a new installation was taken in the 1970s already, implementation of the project under the conditions of a socialist planned economy took three years, from 1983 to 1986. The replacement installation was a fixed-grip double chairlift built by the Slovakian Tatrapoma company under licence from Poma. The bottom station was moved further down into the valley, which almost doubled the length of the line. Capacity was also significantly increased. The drive and hydraulic tensioning system were again located in the bottom station. The design of the Delta type station, with its timeless looks, was created for the Poma company by the industrial designer Alphonse Lisa. He was also responsible for the water-droplet shape of the chairs, which were in use until 2012. The return station at the top was built as an open structure. In 1991, the chairlift was acquired by the Skialpin Pustevny sports club, which was converted into a limited liability company in 2006. Today the installation is operated by Pustevny s.r.o, with the municipality of Trojanovice as a minority shareholder.

In 2012 the original chairs were replaced by a newer type of Tatrapoma chairs from the Ustroń – Czantoria double chairlift in Poland, which was replaced by a Doppelmayr detachable quad chairlift in 2006. In 2016 the original multi-purpose building at the top station was demolished and replaced in August 2017 by a new structure made of stone, wood and glass. Access to the cable car is now through this building, which houses a restaurant and a souvenir shop in addition to the restrooms.

The celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Pustevny chairlift, including a full supporting program, were held on March 3-8, 2020, just before restrictions were imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Future plans

Sitting in open chairs moving at a fair-weather speed of 2.0 m/s is particularly problematical in poor weather and no longer up to standard in terms of the quality of the ride. Plans were drawn up some years ago to replace the present double chairlift with a gondola lift, and in autumn 2019 the approvals were issued for the construction of a 10-passenger gondola lift with a capacity of 1,100 pph. The new installation requires far fewer towers on the line than the chairlift. The planned total spend for the new installation of about 150 million Czech korunas (about 5.7 million euros) means that a contribution from the government’s regional development fund is required.