The holy city of Varanasi will achieve the distinction of being the first in India to have a ropeway service for transportation of public.

With the ropeway coming up in the future, Varanasi will not only be India’s first but also the world’s third to use the ropeway as public transport. The proposed ropeway is planned to come up from Cantt Railway Station (Varanasi Junction) to Church Square (Godauliya).

The other stations enroute will be at Sajan Tiraha, Rathyatra, and Girjaghar (Godowlia) crossings.

The cost of the project is expected to be Rs.424 crore and it will help ease traffic congestion to a very large extent.

The ropeway will also help the devotees and tourists visiting the holy city as Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Dashashwamedh Ghat will become easily accessible to them. As the ropeway will cover an aerial distance of 4.2 kilometres, it will save time and money for commuters and visitors.

Talking to news18.com about the project, Isha Duhan, Vice-Chairman of the Varanasi Development Authority, said: “India will be the third country in the world after Bolivia and Mexico City, and Varanasi will be the first city to use a ropeway for public transport.”

She went on to add that the pilot project is being developed on the lines of Kyoto in Japan, which is state-of-the-art.

The travel time expected to cover 4.2 kilometres is expected to be 15 minutes. The trolley cars, expected to be 220 in number, will run at an height of 45 metres with each car having a seating capacity of 10.

What makes the ropeway system fast and efficient is the fact that the cars will move in a gap of 90 seconds to 120 seconds. The service will be available at night also. The stations will reflect the city’s art, culture and religion.

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