The main trial in the case of the fall of a cable car cabin on Ještěd is to begin on 20 January 2027. The accused are three people and the company České dráhy, which owned the cable car at the time of the accident. According to Liberecká Drbna, the accused face a sentence of up to ten years; the carrier has repeatedly rejected that it bears criminal responsibility.[1][2]
The accident of 31 October 2021
In the accident the haul rope snapped and one of the two cabins of the aerial cable car fell from a height of about 30 metres. The attendant, who was alone in the cabin, died. The attendant of the other cabin pulled the emergency brake and the cabin with 13 passengers stayed hanging on the track rope about 15 metres above the ground; the passengers were rescued by firefighters.[1][2]
Findings of the Drážní inspekce
According to the final report of the Drážní inspekce, pronounced corrosion of the wires, which weakened the cross-section of the rope, contributed to the rope snapping. The cable car was, it says, operated without the elements that ensure automatic activation of the car brake; these had previously been removed without authorisation. The carrier objected that the technical condition of the cable car had not been called into question by any previous inspection by the Drážní inspekce, the Drážní úřad or other authorities.[1][2]
Consequences
It was the first accident on the cable car since it was built in 1932–1933. Liberec bought the cable car from České dráhy for CZK 38.6 million and is planning a new cable car with a different system and an extended route to the tram terminus in Horní Hanychov. According to reports from October 2026 it should be in operation in four years at the earliest.[1][2]
Chronology
- — The main trial over the fall of a cable car cabin on Ještěd on 31 October 2021, in which three people and the company České dráhy are accused, is scheduled to begin on 20 January 2027. iDNES.cz: Liberec Liberecká Drbna
Sources
- iDNES.cz: Liberec — 25 October 2026
- Liberecká Drbna — 25 October 2026