The Bright Side: Paris region unveils first urban cable car linking isolated suburbs

Gondolas floated above a cityscape in the southeastern suburbs of Paris Saturday as the first urban cable car in the French capital's region was unveiled.

Officials inaugurated the C1 line in the suburb of Limeil-Brevannes in the presence of Valérie Pécresse, the head of the Île-de-France region, and the mayors of the towns served by the cable car.

The 4.5-kilometre route connects Créteil to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and passes through Limeil-Brevannes and Valenton.

The cable car will carry some 11,000 passengers per day in its 105 gondolas, each able to accommodate ten seated passengers.

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The total journey will take 18 minutes, including stops along the way, compared to around 40 minutes by bus or car, connecting the isolated neighbourhoods to the Paris metro's line 8.

The 138-million-euro project was cheaper to build than a subway, officials said.

A cheaper option

"An underground metro would never have seen the light of day because the budget of more than a billion euros could never have been financed," said Grégoire de Lasteyrie, vice-president of the Île-de-France regional council in charge of transports.

It is France's seventh urban cable car, with aerial tramways already operating in cities including Brest, Saint-Denis de La Reunion and Toulouse.

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Historically used to cross rugged mountain terrain, such systems are increasingly being implemented to link up isolated neighbourhoods.

France's first urban cable car was built in Grenoble, nestled at the foot of the Alps, in 1934. The iconic "bubbles" have become one of the symbols of the southeastern city.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)