A 67% increase in passenger numbers pushed the small industrial cable car beyond capacity. Visitors can still reach the Sanetsch Dam this summer – but only with individual tickets.

Visitors planning a trip to the Sanetsch Dam this summer should note an important change: the Sanetsch Cable Car no longer accepts the Magic Pass or Bergbahnen Gstaad passes. Operated primarily as an industrial cable car for the Sanetsch hydropower plant, the lift remains open to tourists, but access is now limited to single and return tickets.

The decision follows a dramatic rise in visitor numbers after Destination Gstaad joined the Magic Pass network. According to operator Kraftwerk Sanetsch AG, passenger journeys increased by 67%, from around 17,000 in 2024 to more than 28,400 last summer.

With a transport capacity of just 40 passengers per direction per hour, the cable car struggled to cope during peak holiday periods. Long queues regularly extended beyond the published operating hours, particularly due to the growing number of cyclists using the lift for the descent from the Valais side of the Sanetsch Pass.

"The tourist service is ultimately a by-product of operating the power plant," the company explains. Rather than expanding capacity, it has chosen to reduce demand by withdrawing from the regional pass schemes. It expects visitor numbers to return to pre-2025 levels and accepts the resulting loss of tourism revenue.

The Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad (BDG) says it understands the decision. While the Sanetsch Cable Car added value to the region's network, it was never a core part of the destination's lift system. BDG does not expect any significant impact on tourism and points out that the destination continues to offer a wide range of mountain experiences.

The operator also stresses that it has no plans to end tourist access altogether. The cable car will remain open within its operational limits, although there are currently no plans to expand visitor services.

Why is the Sanetsch Reservoir almost empty?
Anyone visiting the Sanetsch Reservoir at the moment will notice unusually low water levels. The cause is not the recent dry weather but planned maintenance work on the dam.

The reservoir has been partially drained to allow repairs to cracks that have been monitored since the 1990s. An earlier repair carried out in 2014 proved ineffective, prompting Kraftwerk Sanetsch AG and the Federal Office of Energy to approve a new waterproofing method.

The work began on 20 July and is expected to continue until the end of August. The project, including planning, costs around CHF 235,000.

According to BKW, electricity production will not be reduced overall, although generating power at less favourable times will result in some loss of revenue. The company emphasises that there are no safety concerns: the more than 60-year-old dam undergoes annual inspections and fully complies with federal safety requirements.

Based on AvS / Jocelyne Page