The cable car was built by the Swiss companyVon Roll and opening on December 30, 1954. The line reused the former two cabins of the "Landi-Schwebebahn", built to connect the two sites of the. In 1960, these cabins were replaced by new cabins with a capacity of 30 passengers, constructed by SIG Neuhausen, and the cables were replaced. In 1977, a majority shareholding was acquired by the Swiss company Denner AG. In 1986, the line was converted to automatic operation. In 1990, the line became part of the zonal tariff structure of the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund, and in 1994 self-service ticketing was introduced, with ticket machines at both stations. In 1997, the drive and brake systems were replaced. The line celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2004, when a complete renewal was planned according to the conditions for the license given by the Swiss government. The renewal cost 3.5 million Swiss francs, which was financed by the municipality of Adliswil, the city of Zürich, the ZVV, and by public fundraising and sponsorship. The renewal included the control and monitoring system, whilst the cabins were replaced by more comfortable, spacious and "sleek" cabins constructed by CWA Constructions SA. The masts and carrying ropes were strengthened, and both the valley and mountain stations renewed. The renewal took place between February 4 and 30 April, with the line re-opening on 1 May 2008. On 31 March 2010, the 10th million passenger used the cableway. In 2014, the regular 6-yearly revision of the line was undertaken. In 2016, the upper station was renovated.
Operation
The Adliswil-Felsenegg cable car is technically an aerial tramway, where the two cabins are suspended from a single support cable whilst being permanently attached to a second propulsion cable. The two cars shuttle between upper and lower stations, and must operate together so that when one car is at the lower station, the other will be at the upper station. The line is operated automatically, under the supervision of a single employee located at the lower station. The cabins and upper station are normally unmanned. The lower station is located at an altitude of, whilst the upper station is at an altitude of, giving a rise of. The line is long, and passes over a single intermediate tower with a height of, with a maximum height above ground level of. The span lengths between the stations and towers are and long and the average gradient is 34.1%. The suspension cable has a diameter of, and the propulsion cable of. The propulsion cable is driven by an electric motor with a continuous power rating of and a peak rating of ; a backup drive of is also available. The two cars each have a capacity of 30 passengers, and travel at a maximum speed of, giving a journey time of 5 to 6 minutes and a maximum hourly capacity of 345 passengers in each direction. The car runs every 15 minutes, or more often if traffic requires it. Depending on the time of the year and the day of the week, cars run from either 08:00 or 09:00 to either 20:00 or 22:00.
