Varanasi Ropeway Project Crosses 60% Completion Milestone: Commercial Operations to Begin Soon
India's first urban public transport ropeway project connecting Varanasi Cantt Railway Station to Godowla is racing toward completion, promising relief from chronic traffic jams.
Varanasi's ambitious urban ropeway project, envisioned to ease the historic city's congested narrow lanes, has crossed the crucial 60% completion milestone. Executed by the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLM), the transit system spans a 3.75-kilometer aerial route featuring five major stations: Varanasi Cantt, Sanjay Chowk, Rath Yatra, Girijaghar, and Godowla.
Project engineers confirmed that civil construction of all terminal towers has been successfully completed, and stringing of the high-tensile steel wire ropes is currently underway. The Swiss-engineered gondola cabins, designed to withstand local weather conditions while offering panoramic views of the ancient cityscape, have already arrived at the central depot. Once operational, the ropeway is expected to ferry approximately 3,000 passengers per hour in each direction, cutting travel time across the busy corridor from 45 minutes to a mere 16 minutes.
District Magistrate S. Rajalingam inspected the Rath Yatra station site on Monday, directing executing agencies to expedite finishing works and ensure seamless integration with auto-rickshaw and electric-rickshaw feeder networks to provide a holistic multi-modal transport solution for daily commuters and tourists alike.
