Plans for £100m Cardiff cable car system revealed

Plans for a £100m cable car system in Cardiff are being explored by Cardiff Business Council.

A feasibility study will look at options for a five-mile network linking the city centre and Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan.

The planned system would see passengers transported in gondolas along a route from Cardiff central train station.

CBC chairman Nigel Roberts said it would carry 2,500 tourists and commuters every hour.

He said: "The great thing about Cardiff Bay is that when you get up into the air you can get a phenomenal view."

If plans get off the ground, the gondolas would pass through the city's Central Square and Cardiff Bay before terminating in Penarth.

The system could be similar to London's Emirates Airline cable car system, which opened in 2012

'Growing city'

The scheme, which would cost about £20m per mile, could be funded from the Welsh transport budget, the private sector and sponsorship, Mr Roberts suggested.

He said funding may also be secured via the City Deal - a measure designed to help the Welsh economy grow - which Chancellor George Osborne announced in Wednesday's Budget.

"This would be a sustainable public transport method which would serve our growing city," said Mr Roberts.

The CBC chairman was unable to say when the line could, if financially viable, be ready to carry passengers.

"I would certainly like to sit on this in my lifetime," he added.

The news comes after CBC, Cardiff council's inward investment arm, revealed it had also drawn up plans for Wales' first commercial seaplane service.