Michoacan Starts Uruapan Cable Car Trials

Michoacan Governor Alfredo Ramírez says trial operations for the Uruapan cable car system will begin this month, marking the start of the project’s electromechanical testing phase as construction advances on the new aerial public transport line.

Gladyz Butanda, Michoacan’s Minister of Urban Development and Mobility, says the first stage of testing will put 40 cabins into circulation as part of the system’s initial loop. Trial movements will run between stations 1, 2 and 3, connecting Hospital Regional de Uruapan, Plaza Agora, and the municipal government complex, according to state officials and project contractors Doppelmayr and Grupo INDI.

Butanda adds that the start of testing also triggers the system’s formal certification process, which will be carried out by EU firm TÜV SÜD. The state government says the certification will take around 45 days and must be repeated annually to guarantee operating safety for users.

On its official project page, the Government of Michoacan describes the Uruapan cable car as an 8.4km system with six stations, 50 towers, and 90 cabins, designed to move up to 19,000 passengers daily. The state also cites a capacity of up to 1,500 passengers per hour per direction and a MX$10 fare, aligned with surface public transport, with public investment exceeding MX$3.2 billion (US$170.41 million) for Uruapan’s system.

The government also says the system will run on 100% clean electricity and highlights construction methods such as installing the cable using drones.

Alongside the cableway, the state has advanced a package of 22 complementary urban works. As of mid-December 2025, officials reported 14 completed and eight still in progress, including public-space upgrades, safer crossings, street rehabilitation, and a skatepark tied to Station 5. On Dec 31,  Michoacan’s Ministry of Urban Development and Mobility (SEDUM) announced it will invest MX$100 million (US$5.58 million) in complementary public works around the Morelia cable car project. The package is expected to include recreational and sports areas, academic-use spaces, and street improvements, all located near the system’s seven stations

Earlier state project descriptions framed the cableway as a clean-energy mobility system designed to reduce congestion and complement existing road-based public transport, while being built by Doppelmayr Mexico and Grupo INDI. 

However, the project has also faced public debate since its announcement. In 2023, MBN reported that while state authorities and developers promoted the cableway as a clean-energy mobility project with tourism spillovers, targeting at least 500,000 additional tourists annually and an estimated US$41.1 million economic impact, critics questioned its feasibility and legality, pointing to issues such as consultation processes and the availability of required studies and documentation.