Samnaun Breaks Ground on New Gondola That Will Reshape Access to the Ischgl-Samnaun Ski Arena

Samnaun has broken ground on a new gondola that will directly connect its lower hamlets to the Ischgl ski arena for the first time.

Construction began in May 2026 on the new Laretbahn L3, a 10-person monocable gondola lift linking the Samnaun hamlets of Laret and Compatsch to the Silvretta Ski Arena Ischgl/Samnaun. Planning and licence approval from the Swiss Federal Office of Transport was granted on 30 March 2026, and once that decision became legally binding, groundwork got underway. The lift is scheduled to open for the 2027-28 winter season.

Samnaun sits on the Swiss side of one of the Alps' most significant cross-border ski areas. The Silvretta Ski Arena spans the Swiss-Austrian border, with Ischgl - the larger and better-known resort village - sitting on the Austrian side in Tyrol. Samnaun provides an alternative entry point into the same lift network, and the new Laretbahn is a direct investment in making that access more competitive.

What's being built

The new lift runs from a valley station at 1,721m to a top station at 2,503m near the Muller M2 six-seater chairlift, covering a vertical rise of 782 metres over a horizontal distance of 3,180 metres. An intermediate station sits at 1,966m. Twenty support towers are planned along the route.

The initial operating configuration will run 59 cabins with a capacity of 1,600 passengers per hour at a travel speed of 6.0 m/s, with a journey time of around 11 minutes. The final phase will expand that to 74 cabins and 2,000 passengers per hour.

The 10-person cabins use a detachable grip system, which allows the gondola to slow at stations for easier boarding - a standard feature on modern high-capacity lifts that makes a meaningful difference for families and less mobile guests.

The midway station is the key detail

Most new gondola projects are straightforward replacements or upgrades - a higher-capacity cabin on a familiar line. The Laretbahn is more interesting than that, largely because of its intermediate station at 1,966m.

Rather than operating purely as a feeder lift from the valley, the midway station allows skiers to access or exit at mid-mountain, creating flexibility to use either the upper or lower sections of the run independently. That changes the character of the lift from a one-way commuter into something with genuine in-area utility - skiers can drop off at mid-station to access specific terrain rather than riding the full line every time.

For overnight guests staying in the lower hamlets of Laret and Compatsch specifically, the practical impact is significant: the journey from accommodation to the slopes becomes ski-in/ski-out rather than requiring transfer to the main village. That is a genuine quality-of-life improvement for a section of the resort that has historically been at a slight disadvantage relative to accommodation sitting closer to the existing lift base.

Context: why Samnaun is investing here

The Silvretta Ski Arena covers 239km of marked runs across the Austrian and Swiss sides of the border. Ischgl carries the bulk of the resort's international profile - the Top of the Mountain concerts, the Tyrolean village infrastructure, and the bulk of the accommodation stock. Samnaun's drawcard has traditionally been its duty-free status as a Swiss customs-free zone, which keeps prices on fuel, alcohol, and goods notably lower than the Austrian side.

The new Laretbahn is not about competing with Ischgl - the two villages share a lift network and a pass system. It is about making the Swiss entry point more functional for the guests who choose to base themselves there. A direct gondola connection from lower-lying accommodation to the ski area removes the last meaningful friction point for Samnaun-based skiers.

Samnaun Mountain Railways have indicated that disruption to the natural environment and summer operations during the two-year construction phase will be kept to a minimum. The lift is due to open for the start of the 2027-28 winter season.