HANOI, 8 August 2023: A cable car that climbs to the cloud-shrouded summit of Fransipan Peak in Sapa Vietnam will suspend operation for maintenance from 11 to 15 September, its owner Sun World Fanispan Legend, announced last week.
In a statement posted on its website, the company it would suspend operations of the cable car system and mountain train at the famous resort to perform periodic system maintenance. The train and cable car can accommodate up to 2,000 tourists per hour.
Named the world’s leading cultural attraction by World Travel Awards, the cable car takes 20 minutes to climb to the station just short of the summit, a difference of 1,410 metres in height measured from the base station (Sapa village elevation: 1,500m).
Fansipan is the highest mountain in Indochina at 3,147 metres above sea level, and the cable car is acknowledged by two Guinness World Records for having the longest nonstop three-rope cable car in the world, spanning 6.3 km and the greatest elevation difference for a nonstop three-roped cable car of 1,410 m elevation between terminals.
Opened in February 2016, the summit cable car and mountain train that takes travellers beyond the steep steps for trail walks attracts thousands of tourists who pay VND850,000 to enjoy the spectacular views as the cable car gently soars to the summit across valleys and ridges.
It suffered recent bursts of negative publicity, the latest posted by the New Zealand Herald on 4 August. The newspaper reported a cable car carrying Tik Kok influencer Haris Minhaj, who hails from Australia, and 15 other passengers got stuck for three hours 300 metres above the Sapa Valley.
The incident occurred on 17 June 2023 and was first reported in the UK’s Daily Mail and Express. Minhaj, who goes by the tag Fully Fledged, is seen in the Tik Tok video saying: “We are in [one of] the highest cable cars in the world, and we are now stuck.”
Due to an electrical fault, moving the cable car at a snail’s pace using backup generators took two and a half hours. Passengers applauded as they slowly descended to the gondola base station that emerged visible as the cloud cover dissipated. Minhaj said passengers weren’t offered a refund, but there were profuse apologies and cups of tea.
The Sun World Fansipan Legend cable car system was designed by European operators Doppelmayr, and the company states the entire cable car system and train are tested rigorously for passengers’ safety and peace of mind.
Tik Tok video: Dangling over Sapa in a cable car
