ST. LOUIS – Gateway Arch engineers looked into an incident that kept more than 20 passengers stranded for two hours in the tram of the north leg on Monday.
Visitors were back out at the Arch grounds Tuesday, taking pictures and purchasing tickets for the one-of-a-kind ride to the top.
“It is a combination of an elevator, an escalator, and a Ferris wheel, the way the cars work. There are eight cars all connected in one tram,” Gateway Arch National Park Program Director Pam Sanfilippo said. “They are repaired and replaced on a routine basis as part of our safety procedures.”
According to Sanfilippo, the tram system on the north leg abruptly stopped about 100 feet from the bottom Monday.
“It was triggered by the safety system that is set in place, recognizing that there was an issue with one of the governing cables. So, it automatically locks the tram in place and stops it,” she said.
The lock prevents a free fall of the cars where the 25 passengers waited.
“We are able, through a one-way PA system, to let visitors know we are aware of the situation (and that) we are working on it,” Sanfilippo said.
There was a different issue back in 2022 with one of the trams, but they don’t often see issues with them, considering the trams run six times every hour, nine hours a day, seven days a week.
“This might be the only or one of very few times that the fire department has actually helped to assist (to) evacuate passengers off the trams,” Sanfilippo said.
The tram on the south leg will continue to operate while they wait on the repair parts for the north tram.
