Table Mountain Cableway Maintenance Concludes Ahead of Resumption of Operations

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company reports that the annual maintenance of the attraction is nearing completion. Provided the schedule is maintained, the attraction plans to resume operations on Monday, August 10th.

Table Mountain Cableway Company (TMACC) noted that the shutdown period has reached its final days, and the engineering team is working to complete maintenance, replacement, and testing of equipment. The cableway was closed for maintenance on July 27th, transforming into a carefully controlled engineering site where critical systems are being inspected, tested, and serviced.

TMACC Technical Executive Manager, Andris de Vries, explained that the company's technical team performs cableway maintenance throughout the year, conducting scheduled inspections and preventive maintenance while the attraction is operational.

However, the planned annual closure allows for more extensive work that cannot be performed while visitors are on the site. De Vries emphasized that despite its outward simplicity, the cableway is a complex transport system with hundreds of interacting components. The shutdown provides access to parts of the system whose maintenance cannot occur during passenger transport. This is when the largest maintenance projects are carried out.

According to De Vries, the most significant project in the current maintenance cycle is the replacement of the main and haul ropes of the cableway. These moving ropes, which lift and lower the cabins, are replaced every five to six years. He specified that these ropes differ from the four 1.5 km track ropes that carry the weight of the cabins; the latter were replaced during an extended seven-week shutdown in 2024. Unlike the track rope replacement, during the haul rope replacement, two cabins remained suspended on the track ropes while crews threaded the new haul rope through the system, allowing the work to be completed in two weeks instead of a longer closure.

Nevertheless, this year's annual maintenance program went beyond simple rope replacement. Over the past two weeks, engineers have inspected, serviced, and tested the mechanical, electrical, and safety systems across the entire cableway. Every component was maintained according to its condition, service life, and manufacturer's specifications to ensure safe and reliable operation of the system.

De Vries reported that the work is being carried out by TMACC's in-house technical team with support from specialists from Doppelmayr Garaventa, a Swiss cableway system manufacturer. The manufacturer's team is also providing practical training to TMACC technical staff, many of whom have worked with Swiss experts not only during this shutdown but also in previous periods, ensuring knowledge transfer to the local team.

TMACC CEO, Wahida Parker, stated that the cableway operates within the framework of South African occupational health and safety regulations, including the Mobile Equipment Regulations and the incorporated code of practice for aerial cableways. Parker also mentioned that the TMACC maintenance program complies with Swiss cableway requirements and original equipment specifications. She stressed that the annual shutdown is a planned investment in the safety and reliability of the cableway.

Table Mountain remains open for hiking throughout the maintenance period. Cableway service is unavailable in both directions, so hikers are advised to plan their routes and timing accordingly, as ascent and descent must be done on foot. Since conditions on the mountain change rapidly, visitors are advised to check the weather, bring warm and waterproof clothing, water, and a fully charged phone, and avoid solo hikes.

The Vida e Caffè café and public restrooms at the lower station remain open. The upper station, including restaurants, bars, retail shops, and sanitary facilities, is closed until the cableway reopens. The shuttle service between Kloof Nek and the lower station is suspended during the annual maintenance period.