- published: 31 May 2015
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The Singapore Cable Car provides an aerial link from Mount Faber (Faber Peak Singapore) on the main island of Singapore to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbour. However, it is not the first aerial ropeway system to span the sea. For instance, Awashima Kaijō Ropeway in Japan, built in 1964, goes over a short strait to an island. Although referred to by its operators as a cable car, the listed system is in fact a bi-cable gondola lift and not an aerial tramway. A round-trip ticket currently costs SGD 29 for adult, SGD 18 for child.
The Singapore government came up with the idea of a cable car to Sentosa from Mount Faber in 1968 as part of its masterplan for tourism projects in the country. 4 years later in 1972, construction on the S$5.8 million system commenced, and was officially opened on 15 February 1974 by then Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Goh Keng Swee.
Singapore (i/ˈsɪŋɡəpɔːr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, and often referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City, and the Red Dot, is a global city in Southeast Asia and the world's only island city-state. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island and 62 islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km2), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.
The islands were settled from the second century AD by a series of local empires. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded modern Singapore as a trading post of the East India Company; after the company collapsed, the islands were ceded to Britain and became part of its Straits Settlements in 1826. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from Britain in 1963, by uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but was expelled two years later over ideological differences. After early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian tiger economy, based on external trade and its human capital.
A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate. The terminology also refers to the vehicles on these systems. The cable car vehicles are motor-less and engine-less and they are pulled by a cable that is rotated by a motor off-board.
Cable car transport systems are a viable transportation system for various situations. Cable-Propelled Transit (CPT or cable for short) can be effective as a mass transit system at a reasonable cost.
They are advantageous for transit of mountains, valleys, steep slopes and bodies of water. Constructing roads in mountainous terrain requires substantial funding and can significantly affect the environment."The minimally invasive design enables ropeways to blend in almost imperceptibly with their surrounding- without harm to the visual impression of the tourist destination".
In an aerial transit system, cabins (also called carriers, vehicles, cable cars or simply cars) are suspended and propelled from above by cables. The cable that supports the cabin may or may not be the one that propels it too. This depends on the technology used. It is a two way transport.
Cable car, flying high
Passing stars or wondering why
Did she go or did she die
I don't know
Mountainside, not so green
Snow is more than ever seen
Will she come back in a dream
I don't know
Thoughts of her reminding me
Of a time I couldn't see
Anything but you and me together
Colored cloud, on you go
To a land you may not know
If you see her
Tell her I'm so alone