Gaislachkoglbahn in Sölden sets records
The modern “Gaislachkoglbahn” cable car in Sölden in the Ötztal, which opened last December (as we reported), is setting records: its operators call their “baby” the most comfortable and modern mountain railway in the world.
Gaislachkoglbahn - platform with several gondolas
Access is easy via escalator, and the entire design of the Gaislachkoglbahn in Sölden looks to visitors like something straight out of the future. Skiers can board several gondolas at once, just as they would on a platform. The cable car carries up to 3,600 skiers an hour to the slopes on the mountain in Austria’s Ötztal—more than any other mountain railway in the world can transport in that time.
Gaislachkoglbahn in Sölden sets records
Date: 30/09/2026
The cable car now has to recoup its costs
From a distance, the Gaislachkoglbahn stations look like futuristic space stations. The modern cable car now has to recoup its costs, which is why its operators in the Ötztal are charging winter sports enthusiasts a pretty penny for its amenities: A seven-day ski pass costs an average of €250 during the peak season, which in Sölden lasts until April 1, 2011. The scale of the prices becomes clear when you compare this with a lift ticket valid throughout the Zillertal: the seven-day ski pass for the Zillertal (whose ski area is around four times the size of Sölden’s) costs “only” about €225 less.
The Gaislachkoglbahn in Sölden is a major visitor attraction
High-tech and amenities come at a price—that is the argument put forward by the operators of the Gaislachkoglbahn in Sölden in the Ötztal. And visitor numbers seem to prove them right: the Gaislachkoglbahn has become an absolute crowd-puller in a very short time. So the operators’ plan seems to be working: plenty of skiers and snowboarders are willing to pay above-average prices when the comfort and speed are clearly noticeable.
Christian Bathen
