Portland Aerial Tram
| Portland Aerial Tram OHSU Tram |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Character | Bi-cable aerial tramway |
| Location | Portland, Oregon |
| Termini | South Waterfront neighborhood OHSU Hospital |
| No. of stations | 2 |
| Open | December 15, 2006 |
| Website | http://gobytram.com/ |
| Operation | |
| Owner | City of Portland |
| Operator | Oregon Health & Science University |
| Ridership | 3,370/day |
| Technical features | |
| Manufactured by | Doppelmayr, Austria |
| Operating speed | 22 mph |
The Portland Aerial Tram or OHSU Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon, carrying commuters between the city's South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. It is one of only two commuter aerial tramways in the United States, the other being New York City's Roosevelt Island Tramway. The tram travels a horizontal distance of 3,300 feet (1,000 m) and a vertical distance of 500 feet (150 m) in a ride that lasts three minutes.
The tram was jointly funded by OHSU, the City of Portland, and by South Waterfront property owners, with most of the funding coming from OHSU. It is owned by the city and operated by OHSU. While most passengers are affiliated with OHSU, it is open to the public and operated as part of Portland's public transportation network that includes the Portland Streetcar, MAX Light Rail, and TriMet buses. After opening in December 2006, the tram carried its one millionth passenger on October 17, 2007 and its ten millionth rider on January 8, 2014. A round-trip ticket costs $4.55 but are free for OHSU patients and certain visitors; OHSU employees and students ride free by showing their ID badges.
The tram cost $57 million to build—a nearly fourfold increase over initial cost estimates, which was one of several sources of controversy concerning the project.
The tram consists of two stations and a single intermediate tower. Two tram cars operate in a pendular mode on parallel track ropes and are pulled in unison by a haul rope which is driven by an engine at the lower terminal; when one car is at the upper terminal, the other is at the lower terminal, and vice versa. The lower station is located beside an OHSU facility in the South Waterfront neighborhood, adjacent to a stop on the Portland Streetcar line, which connects the South Waterfront neighborhood with downtown Portland. The upper station is located adjacent to OHSU Hospital, on the university's Marquam Hill campus. The two stations are exactly east and west of each other separated by a horizontal distance of 3,300 feet (5/8 mi, 1 km) and a vertical distance of 500 feet (150 m). The maximum vertical clearance between the tram and the ground is 175 feet (53.4 m).
...
Wikipedia