Silvretta Montafon Plans New 10-Person Gondola to Replace Ageing Hochjoch Lift

Silvretta Montafon wants to replace one of its most recognisable cable cars, and the plan calls for a single gondola doing the job two lifts currently split between them.

The resort filed a nature conservation permit application at the start of July for a new Hochjoch cable car - a detachable single-cable gondola with 10-person cabins running direct from Schruns to a summit station at 1,870 metres. The system would stretch roughly 3,240 metres and climb more than 1,150 metres in altitude, with a projected ride time of around ten minutes at a top speed of 6 metres per second.

No more swapping gondolas partway up

The current Hochjoch lift runs in two sections. Guests board in Schruns, ride to the Kropfen mid-station at 1,335 metres, then have to change gondolas for the second leg up to Kapell. Four cabins altogether, each holding 54 people, keep that system running. The new gondola does away with the transfer completely - cabins would be in constant circulation, so there's no waiting around for a large gondola to depart, and skiers get a straight run to the top even on the busiest mornings.

A five-fold jump in capacity

Where the existing setup tops out at 620 people an hour, the new gondola is designed to move up to 3,000. That capacity gap looks like the real driver behind the project - a four-cabin system simply can't flex the way a modern circulating gondola can, where cabins are arriving constantly rather than on a fixed schedule.

The Hochjoch lift isn't just a winter fixture, either. Hikers and mountain bikers rely on it through summer as the access point for several Hochjoch routes, and it's currently the only way to get bikes up that side of the mountain.

The Kropfen chairlift goes too

The project doesn't stop at the gondola. The old Kropfen chairlift - a fixed-grip, two-person lift built in 1985, capable of moving 1,000 people an hour - is also being retired as part of the same plan. That lift currently takes around seventeen minutes to shuttle riders up towards the higher ski area, a job the new gondola would absorb. One project, two lifts removed from the network. What happens to the land, station buildings, and old lift lines hasn't been detailed yet.

The end of a lift dating back to 1966

Replacing the Hochjoch cable car closes out a fairly unusual chapter in the resort's lift history. The first connection between Schruns and the mountain opened in 1950, with a second section added the following year between Kropfen and the Kapellalpe. That original setup was replaced in 1966 by the four-cabin system still running today, which went through a substantial modernisation in 1992. Two-section gondolas requiring a mid-ride transfer are rare in modern ski infrastructure, which has made this one something of a curiosity among cable car circles - though its limited capacity is exactly why it's being phased out.

Approval still to come

Nothing is finalised yet. The public hearing on the permit application is set for August 27, 2026, giving involved parties and immediate neighbours a window to review the project documents. Silvretta Montafon hasn't released investment figures, a manufacturer, or a construction schedule. A specialist lift database lists 2027 as a possible build year, but the resort itself hasn't confirmed that timeline. Until the approval process wraps up, there's no word on when the current Hochjoch cable car will run its final trips or which winter season will see skiers riding the new gondola for the first time.