Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Cable car in canton Valais replaces bridge destroyed by storms

Cable car bridges road destroyed by storm in Val de Bagnes
Cable car bridges road destroyed by storm in Val de Bagnes Keystone-SDA

Starting Monday, a cable car will operate in Val de Bagnes in Canton Valais to replace a bridge that was washed away in storms last summer.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

It will supplement the transport services until the road bridge that was washed away by a massive storm has been rebuilt, the Valais cantonal chancellery announced.

Since the storms in July 2024, the village of Sarreyer has only been accessible via an upgraded forest road. The bridge over the Fregnoley torrent on the cantonal road to Sarreyer was washed away.

Time-saver

The 500-metre-long cable car covers the distance between the two villages of Champsec and Sarreyer in five minutes. According to Google Maps, it takes 26 minutes to cover the same distance on the upgraded forest road.

More

The cable car, which took five months to build, consists of a cabin with eight seats. As soon as the Fregnoley Bridge is back in operation, the cable car will be dismantled. Reconstruction of the bridge is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and will take around 18 to 24 months.

In July 2024, severe storms raged in the southern canton of Valais. Heavy rain led to flooding, landslides and debris flows. This caused extensive damage in the Val de Bagnes and led some villages to be evacuated.

Adapted from German by DeepL/jdp

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Former US general advises Switzerland to prepare for war

More

Former US general advises Switzerland to prepare for war

This content was published on According to former United States general Ben Hodges, the withdrawal of US troops from Europe is only a matter of time. In an interview with SonntagsBlick, he advises Switzerland to prepare for war.

Read more: Former US general advises Switzerland to prepare for war
Diccon Bewes

More

Swiss-British author Diccon Bewes dead at 57

This content was published on The author of the bestseller Swiss Watching and former member of SWI swissinfo.ch's Public Council, Diccon Bewes, died on March 11 after a battle with cancer.

Read more: Swiss-British author Diccon Bewes dead at 57
Bernese anti-separatists celebrate the vote of 16 March 1975

More

Anti-separatists in Bernese Jura mark 50th anniversary of crucial vote

This content was published on Anti-separatist circles celebrated in Tramelan (BE) on Saturday the 50th anniversary of the vote of 16 March 1975 in which the population of the Bernese Jura chose to remain part of the Bernese Confederation. The theme of the jubilee was the identity of the Bernese Jura after Moutier's departure.

Read more: Anti-separatists in Bernese Jura mark 50th anniversary of crucial vote
237 Swiss companies with CO2 reduction targets

More

Over 200 Swiss firms sign up to CO2 reduction targets

This content was published on To date, 237 companies from Switzerland have joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), committing to CO2 reduction targets in line with the Paris Accord.

Read more: Over 200 Swiss firms sign up to CO2 reduction targets

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR