MEXICABLE, a cable-car line 4.9km (three miles) long, soars above Ecatepec, a poor suburb of Mexico City. Open for just over a year, its 185 gondolas carry 18,000 people a day between San Andrés de La Cañada, at the top of the hill, and Santa Clara Coatitla at the bottom. The trip makes five stops en route and takes 19 minutes, compared with the 80-minute bus trip residents previously endured. The cable car is “super quick and much less stressful,” says Nelly Hernández, a passenger accompanied by her awestruck four-year-old daughter.
In rich Western countries, cable cars are mainly for tourists. Latin America, in contrast, has adopted them as mass transit for the poor. They suit the region’s mountainous cities, many of which have expanded chaotically, says Julio Dávila of University College London. Ecatepec’s population jumped after an earthquake hit Mexico City in 1985.
The pioneer was Medellín, Colombia’s...Continue reading
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