The small village of Stechelberg in the Bernese Alps is getting a new cableway to the top of the 2,970-metre Schilthorn. A Volvo ECR25 Electric is at work at the top of the mountain having been transported there by helicopter.
The £90m project for tram operator Schilthornbahn AG will increase passenger capacity and reduce travel time, as well as enabling 365-day access to the mountain summit.
The Schilthorn cableway was originally built in the 1960s, opening up access to the summit for the masses for the first time. For many years, it was the world’s longest and steepest aerial cableway, made famous thanks to its role in the 1968 James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
As diesel engines suffer from reliability issues at high altitude, electric machines are a solution for operating in thin air conditions.
Timur Abied, utility product manager with Volvo Construction Equipment, says: “We’re used to discussing the benefits of near-silent zero emission electric machines in busy urban locations and for indoor works. But this project shows the versatility of electric to solve more problems than one might think. We’re very much looking forward to proving the power of electric machines to rise to the toughest of challenges. “
Construction contractor Ghelma AG Baubetriebe is responsible for the excavation and foundation work for the new summit station. Site manager Melchior Burlon explains the challenges. “There are two main problems up on the mountains,” he says. “On the one hand, we don’t have much space here, and on the other hand we often encounter problems with diesel engines operating at altitude owing to the thin air and the cold.
“Volvo CE is the only supplier that offers something of this magnitude. Otherwise, there were only excavators up to two tons and we wanted the most powerful machine for the job – and something that we could still transport via helicopter if necessary.”
The ECR25 Electric was delivered by local dealer Robert Aebi AG, where it was loaded onto a snow groomer. Ongoing work with the railway meant the excavator had to be towed up at night piece-by-piece to the station at Birg, which sits at an altitude of 2,600 meters. The machine was then transported via helicopter for the final part of the way up to the summit.
The excavator is charged via the Schilthorn cable car’s power supply – and if required during the project, the fast charger will also be used. The cableway draws 100% of its electricity from hydropower generated in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
“The energy is available up here, and we can tap into it at any time. The other advantage is the absence of exhaust emissions, that’s great,” concludes Burlon.
For Ghelma AG Baubetriebe, the experience with electric machines has only been positive, so much so that they have already ordered a Volvo ECR18 Electric excavator, which is expected to join its big brother on the Schilthorn in just a few months.
