The annual two-week maintenance of Table Mountain’s aerial cableway is near completion and, should it all go according to plan, the attraction will be operational by Monday, August 10.
The Table Mountain Cableway Company (TMACC) said its shutdown has entered its final days and the engineering team is completing the servicing, replacement, and testing work.
The cableway was shut down for maintenance on July 27, and turned into a carefully controlled engineering site, where critical systems are inspected, tested, and maintained.
The Technical Executive Manager at TMACC, Andries de Vries, said the company’s technical team does cableway maintenance throughout the year, carrying out routine inspections and preventative maintenance while the attraction remains operational.
Planned annual maintenance
The planned annual maintenance closure, however, provides uninterrupted access needed for more extensive work that cannot be done while visitors are on site.
“The Cableway may look simple from the outside, but it is a complex transport system with hundreds of components working together. The shutdown gives us access to parts of the system that simply can’t be worked on while the cableway is transporting visitors. This is when we complete some of our biggest maintenance projects,” de Vries said.
According to de Vries, the largest project in this year’s maintenance programme is the replacement of the cableway’s heel and haul ropes, the moving ropes that pull the cable cars up and down the mountain, and which are replaced every five to six years.
“It is a different rope from the four 1.5km track ropes that carry the weight of the cars: those were replaced during the extended seven-week shutdown in 2024. Unlike the previous track rope replacement, the two cable cars have remained suspended on the track ropes while crews thread the new haul rope through the system, which is one of the reasons the work could be completed inside a two-week window rather than a longer closure,” he said
However, this year’s annual maintenance programme extended well beyond the rope replacement.
Over the past two weeks, engineers have inspected, serviced and tested mechanical, electrical and safety systems across the cableway, with every component maintained according to its condition, service life and manufacturer specifications to ensure the system continues operating safely and reliably.
“The work is carried out by TMACC’s own technical team, supported by specialists from Doppelmayr Garaventa, the Swiss manufacturer of the cableway system. The manufacturer’s team is also providing hands-on training to TMACC’s technicians, many of whom have worked alongside the Swiss specialists not only during this shutdown, but also during previous ones. This ensures a transfer of skills to the local team,” de Vries said.
TMACC Managing Director Wahida Parker said the cableway operates within South Africa’s occupational health and safety framework, including the Driven Machinery Regulations and the incorporated code of practice for aerial ropeways. Parker said TMACC’s maintenance programme is also benchmarked against Swiss cableway requirements and the specifications of the system’s original equipment manufacturers.
“The annual shutdown is a planned investment in the safety and reliability of the cableway,” she said
Visitor information during the remaining days of the shutdown
Table Mountain remains open to hikers throughout the maintenance period. There is no cableway service in either direction, so hikers are urged to plan their routes and timing accordingly as both the ascent and the descent must be completed on foot.
Conditions on the mountain change quickly, and hikers are encouraged to check the weather, carry warm and waterproof clothing, water and a fully charged phone, and avoid hiking alone.
Vida e Caffè and the public toilets at the lower station remain open. The upper station, including its restaurants, bars, retail outlets and ablution facilities, remains closed until the cableway reopens. The shuttle service between Kloof Nek and the lower station is suspended for the duration of the annual maintenance period.
