We boarded the longest cable car in France

A little rolling sound and a slight pitching sensation. The journey in Teleo is reminiscent of that of the gondolas present in the resorts of the Pyrenees, but the view is quite different, even if on sunny days you can see the mountain range in the distance. We will have to wait for the weather to be there, because on this day of the inauguration of the longest urban cable car, the sun was not there in Toulouse.

But the satisfaction of seeing this several years old project come to fruition was on the other hand palpable. Postponed several times, the commissioning of this 3 km line between Paul-Sabatier University, Rangueil Hospital and Oncopôle now makes it possible to travel in ten minutes between the two terminus stations when it is usually necessary. thirty by car. Because the primary purpose of these 158 gondolas is indeed that of public transport.

In particular for users and employees of the Toulouse University Hospital, 65% of whom travel to the Rangueil site by car. “We recently did a mobility audit and 40% are ready to change their mode of transport. The cable car is a real opportunity for our professionals and our patients. This will also strengthen the synergy between the Oncopôle and the CHU, we have patients who have examinations in Rangueil but who are in day hospital at the Oncopôle and there, the question of journeys arises”, explains Ornella Bruxelles- Terriat, the director of Rangueil hospital.

Extensions in reserve

The possibility of hearing it to the west and east, towards Basso Cambo and Montaudran, is still relevant. “We cleared the field of the possible. We will not have skyscrapers built on these sites, we have planned that it can be done and that we do not make space impossible. One day there may be an extension to Basso Cambo where the car park under construction has also been made compatible with the cable car. On the Montaudran side, we have also taken care that we avoid creating parasitic constructions on the axes that we have defined, ”explains Jean-Michel Lattes, the president of Tisséo.