Ngong Ping Cable Car
| Ngong Ping 360 | |
|---|---|
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| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| System | Bi-cable gondola detachable |
| Location | Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
| Termini |
Tung Chung Ngong Ping |
| No. of stations | 2 |
| Open | 18 September 2006 |
| Operation | |
| Operator | MTR Corporation |
| Carrier capacity | 109 cabins, maximum of 17 adult passengers per cabin, 3500 passengers per hour either way |
| Trip duration | 25 min |
| Technical features | |
| Line length | 5,700 m (18,700 ft) |
| Operating speed | 6 metres per second |
| Ngong Ping 360 | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 昂坪360 | ||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Ángpíng Sānliùlíng |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| IPA | [ŋɔ̏ːŋ pʰɪ̏ŋ sáːm lʊ̀k lɪ̏ŋ] |
| Jyutping | Ngong4 Ping4 Saam1 Luk6 Ling4 |
The Ngong Ping 360 is an aerial tramway on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Intended to improve tourism to the area, the aerial tramway was previously known as Tung Chung Cable Car Project before acquiring the Ngong Ping 360 brand in April 2005. It consists of the Ngong Ping Cable Car, a gondola lift formerly known as the Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail, and the Ngong Ping Village, a retail and entertainment centre adjacent to the cable car's upper station. Ngong Ping 360 connects Tung Chung, on the north coast of Lantau and itself linked to central Hong Kong by the Tung Chung Line, with the Ngong Ping area in the hills above. This is home to the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha, both already significant tourist attractions in their own right. Before Ngong Ping 360's opening, the only access was via a mountain road and bus service.
Ngong Ping 360 is owned by the MTR Corporation, the operator of Hong Kong's rail system. It was built by Leitner Ropeways and was originally operated by Skyrail-ITM. Skyrail-ITM was removed from the project after an investigation following an incident in June 2007. It is now operated by a directly owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation.
Following a feasibility study, the Hong Kong government issued an invitation in 2000 for detailed proposals and tender for a 30-year franchise on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis for the global project of operation, management and maintenance of a cable car system linking Tung Chung and Ngong Ping on Lantau Island. The Tourism Commission declared the objective of the project was to increase the range of attractions to visitors to enhance Hong Kong's position as a leading tourist destination in the region. Target timing was to identify a successful proponent by the end of 2001 and to commence operation of the cable car system before early 2006.
Construction of the cable car project started at the beginning of 2004. The system was originally scheduled to open on 23 January 2006, but on 17 June 2006, during the trial-run with the maximum of 109 gondola cabins on the cables, a cabin arriving at Ngong Ping station had a slight collision with a late departing cabin. The entire system was automatically halted by the safety system, leaving 500 volunteers trapped for two hours. As a result, Skyrail-ITM postponed the opening day to fix the technical problems, tests and emergency staff drills.
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