A new six-seat chairlift is open at Klosters in Switzerland, Madrisa ski area. This new “Schaffürggli” chairlift includes a unique feature unique – the seat height of the chair will be controlled depending on the size of the skier.
A laser scans passengers and determines whether they are adults or children. A hydraulic control then adjust the seat height so that even the smallest passengers can safely get onto the chairlift. ABB’s AC motors and traction converters ensures energy efficiency and low maintenance needs.
The lift is 1,860 metres long, and climbs 510 vertical metres over a seven minute journey time at a speed of 5 m/s and will be able to transport up to 2,600 people per hour.
A rising safety bar ensures that smaller children cannot slide out and finally a hood lowers automatically to protect skiers from the cold and bad weather. A special automatic closing and opening of the locking clip allows all the skiers to use the chair lift by themselves.
Swiss wheelchair racer and eight-time Paralympic medallist Edith Wolf-Hunkeler and ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer took a first ride on the the chairlift on December 18th at the Madrisa resort near Davos.
This special chairlift, which uses the lift model CS10B, has been designed to provide more safety, security and comfort for small children and physically disabled individuals. Switzerland’s first “access for all” chairlift removes another barrier facing people with disabilities
— Ulrich Spiesshofer, https://twitter.com/abb_ceo
ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri) is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, operating mainly in robotics and the power and automation technology areas.
Today, ABB’s drive and railway technology is providing safe, reliable, and energy efficient transport throughout the Swiss mountain world, making a significant contribution to the safe and energy-efficient functioning of the modern infrastructure such as cableways, ski lifts and snowmaking facilities.
— Ulrich Spiesshofer
