The ecological mobility solution for the urban environment designed and patented by South Tyrolean ropeway manufacturer Leitner will soon become reality. At the heart of ConnX – the name is derived from the English word connect – is a ropeway with a cabin that is transferred to an autonomous electric vehicle when it enters the station for continuation of the journey at street level.
The system offers two main advantages in the urban context. Firstly, topographical or structural obstacles can be overcome more easily with a ropeway, and secondly, the intermodal solution is an alternative for all those areas where a continuous ropeway line is not feasible for various reasons.
In 2025 the ConnX cabin, the link between ropeways and terrestrial electric transportation systems (trams and metros), will leave prototype status behind and become available to municipalities for their pioneering mobility decisions – offering unprecedented flexibility in the further development of public transportation thanks to its unique hybrid concept. This innovative electric mobility solution was presented at the international ropeway congress held by OITAF (the International Organization for Transportation by Rope) in Vancouver, Canada, and met with an enthusiastic response.
Successful tests in Hungary
“Over the past few months, ConnX has successfully completed all the in-depth tests we carried out at the ZalaZone Automotive Testing Center in Hungary,” says Klaus Erharter, Head of R&D at Leitner. “Thanks also to our successful collaboration with the Slovenian Elaphe company, the market leader in the field of in-wheel motors, we have been able to test the complex functions of our technological solution and to optimize all the processes,” says Günter Tschinkel, Head of Electrical Engineering at Leitner.
The first prototype, which was developed on the basis of an innovative idea in Sterzing, was produced in 2021. Four years later, the urban mobility revolution for enhanced connectivity and greater sustainability will have arrived. The combination of a ropeway and self-driving electric vehicles is a convenient transportation solution that avoids the need to change from one system to another. In addition the seamless interaction of overhead and street level transportation is the key to full adaptability to a wide range of urban requirements since infrastructure barriers like buildings or other obstacles can be bypassed. Moreover ConnX is suitable for providing not only the missing link between different transportation systems or two ropeways but also the last mile connection for passengers and freight.
