The lift will rise a staggering 1,000 vertical metres from 600 to 1600m above sea level over its 5,383m length - a new world record for any type of continually moving cable lift.
It will take only 11.25 minutes to make the five-kilometre ascent from the main Alpine sports venue at Krasnaya Polyana to the Laura ski area where the Winter Games will be held. With 43 passenger cabins each able to carry 30 people, the lift has the capacity to transport 3,000 people per hour.The lift will be a '3S' or 'tri-cable ropeway' system - an ultra-stable, high-capacity, high-speed type of lift that combines the benefits of cable cars and gondolas: the cabins hang from track ropes similar to a cable car but multiple cabins move continuously like a gondola, enabling a continual flow of passengers. Whistler Blackcomb already boasts a similar design with its Peak2Peak lift.
The lift manufacturer Doppelmayr have revealed they will be installing a total of 20 new lifts for the Games. Work is due to commence this May with completion expected for 2013.
