A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables

Wire rope

thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....

 to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate, or a vehicle on these systems.

Aerial lift

Aerial lifts where the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable:

• An aerial tramway
  Aerial tramway
  An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
  
   consists of a cabin suspended from a cable, pulled by another cable.
• A gondola lift
  Gondola lift
  A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
  
   consists of a loop of cable that is strung between two or more stations, usually over intermediate supporting towers, from which cars are suspended.
• A ropeway conveyor
  Ropeway conveyor
  A ropeway conveyor or material ropeway is essentially a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended....
  
   or material ropeway is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.
• Chairlift
  Chairlift
  An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
  
  s where open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of a cable.

Rail system

Varieties in which the vehicle rests on rails

Rail tracks

The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...

 or a road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

:

• A system to haul trains along streets, see Cable car (railway)
  Cable car (railway)
  A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
  
  
• The particular cable car system in operation in San Francisco, California, see San Francisco cable car system
  San Francisco cable car system
  The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
  
  
• A funicular
  Funicular
  A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
  
   consists of a pair of railway cars that alternately ascend and descend an inclined right-of-way, attached to a common cable.
• A cable railway
  Cable railway
  A cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
  
   uses a cable or rope to haul trains.

The longest cableway

The world's longest operable cableway is the Forsby-Köping limestone cableway

Forsby-Köping limestone cableway

The Forsby-Köping limestone cableway, commonly referred to in swedish as Kalklinbanan, is a 42 km aerial tramway running from Forsby in Vingåker municipality to industrial town Köping in central Sweden. Its final destination is the factory at the port of Köping, where cement was manufactured until...

 in Sweden at 42 km (26.1 mi). The longest ever in operation was the 96 km (59.7 mi) Kristineberg-Boliden ropeway conveyor in Sweden. One of its 8 sections has been converted to a gondola lift and is still operating as the 13.2 km Norsjö aerial tramway

Norsjö aerial tramway

Norsjö aerial tramway is a 13.2 kilometre long aerial tramway between Örträsk and Mensträsk in the Norsjö Municipality in Sweden.Norsjö aerial tramway went in service for passenger traffic in 1989 as a tourist attraction...

 making it the world's longest passenger cableway.

Also worth mentioning are Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, a gondola lift

Gondola lift

A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...

 in Australia is 7.5 km long (two sections), and the Swiss Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen

Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen

The Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen is a gondola cable car linking Grindelwald with Männlichen. It is the third longest passenger-carrying gondola lift in the world.-History:*1977 Company was founded....

 is 6.2 km long (two sections). The longest reversible aerial tramway

Aerial tramway

An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...

 built in one section only is Wings of Tatev

Wings of Tatev

Wings of Tatev is a cableway between Halidzor and the Tatev monastery in Armenia. It is the longest reversible aerial tramway built in one section only...

  in Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 at 5.7 km (3.5 mi).

See also

• Cable ferry
  Cable ferry
  A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....
  
  
• Reaction ferry
  Reaction ferry
  A reaction ferry is a cable ferry that uses the reaction of the current of a river against a fixed tether to propel the vessel across the river...
  
  
• Ski lift
  Ski lift
  The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
  
  
• Skyline logging
  Skyline logging
  Skyline logging are terms in forestry, in which harvested logs are transported on a suspended steel cable, a cableway or "highline", from various locations where the trees are felled to a central location, typically next to a road for logistical reasons...
  
  
• Transporter bridge
  Transporter bridge
  A transporter bridge is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been used to cross navigable rivers or other bodies of water, where there is a requirement for ship traffic to be...
  
  
• Zip-line
  Zip-line
  A zip-line consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline...