The Karlovy Vary City Council, encouraged by the commercial success of the cable car to the Imperial Hotel, also dealt with the idea of building a similar railway for several years. After many changes of opinion, the path to the Diana Heights was chosen, where the plan also envisaged the construction of a lookout tower. The construction began in 1911 and in August 1912, i.e. only a few weeks after the opening of the second cable car to the Imperial Hotel, this railway was opened. The cable car to the Diana Height was built in very difficult conditions and with its length of 437 meters it was the longest cable car in the whole of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. The parameters were again identical to the Westbury electric railways, only a different cable car guide was used on the entire track – this was understandably caused by the strong curvature of the cable car route. The first season was not successful – but it was not surprising, there was no attractive object on the Diana height, at that time it was only possible to go there for walks around the area. However, this changed significantly with the completion of the lookout tower on May 27, 1914, when the number of visitors increased significantly. From the beginning of operation until 1960, the railway ran only in the summer months. The following year, it ran for the first time in the winter, but by then the owner (since 1956 also DP Karlovy Vary) was already considering reconstruction. This took place between 1963 and 1965 and was carried out in the same way as the reconstruction of the “tunnel” cable car – i.e. the machinery was replaced and a new all-metal superstructure was installed on the chassis of the cars. The further fate of this cable car was also identical to the “tunnel” one. The operation was terminated on the last day of 1980 and a company was sought to take over the reconstruction. Since 1984, the Polish company Budimex has also been exhibiting here. There has also been a radical modernization, the upper station was then built completely new. The cars were again delivered by the Chorzów factory in 1987. The ceremonial start of operation took place on December 20, 1988 and since then the cable car has been running without major problems to this day. The only difference from the “tunnel” cable car is the recreational tariff, as this cable car is not involved in the city transport system – after all, it is not surprising that there are no residential parts in the vicinity of the upper station. However, the lookout tower in the upper station only partially shared this fate, although it was closed anyway with the cable car, but its restoration continued much more slowly, so it did not open until 1991.
Technical parameters of the cable car
Useful track length: 437m
Construction length of the line: 452.6m
Horizontal track length: 417.5m
Useful track length: 437m
Maximum track gradient: 43.23%
Mean gradient of the track: 9.81%
Altitude of the top station: 555.6m
Altitude of the top station: 555.6m
Altitude of the middle station: 473.0m
Altitude of the lower station: 389.1m
Distance difference in height: 166.5m
Track gauge: 1000mm
Drive power: 51kW
Travel speed: 2.04m/s
Driving Time: 395s
Number of cars: 2
Empty weight: 7,900kg
Occupancy: 49+1 persons
Hourly capacity: 365 people
Rope: 28mm S 6.19 Ao
