Since the ground-breaking ceremony on 3 July 2018, construction work on the 470-million V-Cableway project has been progressing rapidly. The schedule is tight. The new Grindelwald-Männlichen (GGM) gondola cableway as well as the “Terminal Grindelwald” public transport terminal (Rothenegg) will go into operation on 13 December 2019. The “Eigerexpress” tricable gondola, including parking garage and terminal with shops and ski depots will be opened on 14 December 2020. To draw the attention of guests and locals to the completion of the V-Cableway, Jungfrau Railways and Tissot launched the first countdown clock for the V-Cableway at Interlaken Ost station on Monday, 14 January 2019.
700 days left
The other three countdown clocks are located in the heart of Interlaken on the Höhematte, in Grindelwald on the Eiger + Nordwandplatz and at over 2000 metres above sea level at Kleine Scheidegg station. The 700 days remaining until the commissioning of the Eigerexpress tricable gondola can now be counted down at all locations. “I cannot wait until we open the tracks and the terminal. With a journey time shortened by 47 minutes thanks to the direct public transport connection and state-of-the-art facilities, we will be among the best in winter sports again,” said Urs Kessler, CEO of Jungfrau Railways. Tissot President François Thiébaud is delighted with the long-standing partnership with the Jungfrau Railways: “Reaching summits is one of the similarities between Tissot and Jungfrau Railways. In 2012, in commemoration of the centenary of the Jungfrau Railway, a partnership was entered into. This continued in 2015 with the inauguration of the First Cliff Walk by Tissot. We share the same values: Swiss made, precision and innovation.”
Tight schedule
Thanks to the good weather lasting until late autumn 2018, important progress has been made since the start of construction. A milestone was the delivery of the BKW transformer station before Christmas. However, project managers are required to ensure that the railways, the terminal and the car park are put into operation on time. Decisive for the punctual completion of the generation project will be the upcoming winter months. In order to keep to the tight schedule, Jungfrau Railways and the Grindelwald-Männlichen gondola cableway are investing in winter construction measures. Above all, the concrete work is time-critical. In Grindelwald Grund, this must be completed by July 2019, on the Eiger Glacier by the end of 2019. The construction of the car park in Grindelwald Grund begins in spring 2019. Jungfrau Railways and the Grindelwald-Männlichen gondola cableway are doing their utmost to open the new GGM and the Eigerexpress tricable gondola, including car park and terminal, according to plan.
Facts and figures for the V-Cableway project
1. Project status information at the end of 2018
Number of contracted companies / working groups at the end of 2018
Regional: 26
Total: 36
Participating external workers (planners & construction workers): 220
At the end of 2018, orders totalling CHF 100.5 million were granted to companies from the Bernese Oberland. This corresponds to 95% of the order value at the end of 2018 (excluding Garaventa cable cars).
2. Details of the overall project (until completion in December 2020)
Amount in m3 of built-in concrete
40,000 m3
Total excavation
110,000 m3
Eiger glacier / Eiger Express mountain station
Rock removal: 27,000 m3
Rock excavation: 23,000 m3
Number of tonnes of steel used
310.2 tonnes for the Eigerexpress tricable gondola
328 tonnes for the Grindelwald-Männlichen gondola cableway
Weight and length of steel ropes for tricable gondola and GGM:
Weight: Length:
Tricable supporting cable: 532 tonnes Tricable supporting cable: 4x 6940m
Tricable towing cable: 168 tonnes Tricable towing cable: 2x 6782m
GGM: 124 tonnes GGM: 12,554m
