Ngong Ping 360 cable car opens in Hong Kong after typhoon delay - SCMP archive

The Ngong Ping 360 cable car will open today in one of the windiest months of the year, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

Windy conditions with gusts reaching 90km/h occur on 5.5 days for a total of 52 hours in September on average, according to measurements taken at Ngong Ping between 2002 and last year. June, July and August are typically the windiest months.

The Observatory’s forecast for today is for moderate north to northeasterly winds.

The cable car is scheduled to open at 1pm after three months of delays due to glitches and further testing. Electrical and Mechanical Services Department staff will be on site to monitor the inauguration. The department will also conduct both prearranged and surprise inspections during the initial period.

The system suffered some damage in Typhoon Prapiroon seven weeks ago.

Early this month, the Observatory submitted its study on wind patterns in the area to the cable car operator, Skyrail-ITM.

Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan has said the system is designed to handle local weather conditions. Its operator also manages the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway in Cairns, Australia, which it said experienced similar weather conditions to those of Hong Kong.

But “wind conditions in Australia and Hong Kong can be quite different”, said Lo Kok-keung, a Polytechnic University engineering expert. “Even though the system is designed to cope with wind speeds in excess of 100km/h, it’s no longer safe to carry passengers.”

Mr Lo attended a trial run of the cable car on June 14, a few hours before Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen enjoyed his first ride.

Three days later, in another trial run, a cabin approaching the Ngong Ping terminal collided with another cabin, triggering an automatic safety mechanism that halted the system and stranded 500 people in their cabins for two hours. The problem was blamed on a failure in the cabin spacing system.