TelefériQo Departure Station

At the boarding platform, the cabins begin their journey to the upper platform, while beyond the barrier the steep slope already drops away. The line is again taking passengers after a break of sixty-four days: the station replaced components of the first brake, rebuilt the emergency action procedure, and tested the system with firefighters for three days. The technical section remains nearby, although from the queue you can usually see only the cabins and the cable.

The lower station here is called the drive terminal. Behind the passenger area are the motor and braking system, which pull the cable and control the movement of all eighteen cabins. From here, the line runs two and a half kilometers between the El Tejado and Vásconez ravines and rises from an elevation of three thousand one hundred seventeen meters to Cruz Loma—almost eight hundred thirty meters higher.

On July sixth, two thousand twenty-three, at around half past four in the afternoon, a malfunction in the braking system stopped the cabins above the slope. Twenty-seven people were left hanging between the stations; others could not leave Cruz Loma. The technical team wanted to bring the passengers back by the same means that had taken them up: restore the drive and bring the cabins to this lower platform. That was what the internal procedure required—people were to remain inside, and descent on ropes was considered a last resort.

The fault could not be fixed quickly. Emergency services were informed two hours after the stoppage, but the technicians were still trying to start the line. Mountain rescuers from the Quito Fire Department pursued a different goal: to get people down without waiting for repairs. At around half past nine in the evening, they reached the cabins hanging closest to the lower station, secured ropes, and began lowering passengers one by one onto the slope. From the upper platform, people were taken down in eleven pickup trucks; some had previously decided to descend on foot.

By half past two at night, the technical team had finally restored movement. The remaining cabins slowly reached the station. By four in the morning, the rescuers had finished their work: all seventy-five people had been brought out without injuries.

After that, the cable car did not operate for sixty-four days. The operators brought in and replaced components of the first brake, reworked the emergency action plan, and tested the system for three days under the firefighters’ supervision. Today, boarding again takes place from this drive terminal: its technical name points to the equipment that, that night, first held the cabins on the slope and then brought the last of them back here.