Cableway Installations Regulation (EU) 2016/424

Last reviewed: May 2026 · Legal status verified against EUR-Lex.

Regulation (EU) 2016/424 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on cableway installations — the "Cableway Installations Regulation" — replaced Directive 2000/9/EC and has applied since 21 April 2018. It covers cableway installations (cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts, funicular railways, ski tows) designed to transport persons, together with their subsystems and safety components. The Regulation distinguishes the installation itself (whose construction and operation are supervised under national law) from the subsystems and safety components placed on the market, which carry CE marking. Published as OJ L 81, 31.3.2016, p. 1.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 9 March 2016.
• Date of application: 21 April 2018.
• Repeal of Directive 2000/9/EC: 21 April 2018.
• Status in May 2026: applies.

Scope: products covered

Article 2(1) applies to cableway installations designed to transport persons. Article 3(1) defines "cableway installation" as a "whole on-site system, consisting of infrastructure and subsystems, which is designed, constructed, assembled and put into service with the objective of transporting persons, where the traction is provided by cables positioned along the line of travel".

Types of installations

• Funicular railways and other installations where the vehicles are carried on wheels or on other supporting devices and are moved by means of one or more cables;
• Aerial ropeways (gondola lifts, detachable and fixed-grip chairlifts) including those serving ski lifts, where the carriers are suspended from and propelled by one or more cables;
• Drag lifts where users with appropriate equipment are drawn along a prepared track by means of a cable.

Exclusions (Article 2(2))

• Cableways used by farmers, in mining, or for industrial purposes, for transporting goods;
• Lifts within the scope of Directive 2014/33/EU;
• Funicular railways within the scope of Directive 2008/57/EC and successors on rail interoperability;
• Cableways for fairground attractions and amusement parks;
• Mining installations and on-site installations for industrial purposes;
• Cable-driven ferries;
• Rack railways;
• Cable-driven appliances designed for entertainment in ski resorts;
• Military installations.

The two CE-marked products

The Regulation provides for CE marking of two distinct categories of products:

• Subsystems (Annex I) — cable and cable connections, drives and brakes, mechanical equipment (cable winding, station equipment, line structures), passenger carriers (cabins, seats, drag devices, gripping devices, on-board controls), electrotechnical equipment (control, monitoring, information, communication and safety devices), rescue equipment.
• Safety components — components and equipment whose failure or malfunction endangers the safety, health or security of persons (Article 3(7) and Annex I).

The installation as a whole is not CE-marked. It is assessed by the Notified Body for compliance with the Regulation and authorised for service by the relevant Member State authority (Article 9).

Essential requirements (Annex II)

Annex II sets the essential requirements: general (objectives, hypotheses, safety considerations); infrastructure (planning, vegetation, mechanical resistance); cables, drive units and brakes; mechanical equipment; passenger carriers; control devices; rescue arrangements; signage and information; operability and maintainability; environmental considerations.

Safety analysis

Article 8 requires a safety analysis covering each cableway installation, taking account of all envisaged operational modes. The safety analysis identifies risks that could arise during operation, classifies them, addresses each through design measures or operational procedures, and produces a "safety report" (Article 8(2)). The safety report is reviewed by the Notified Body or designated authority.

Conformity assessment procedures

Article 18 and Annex III provide the routes for subsystems and safety components:

• Module B (EU type-examination) +
  • Module D (production QA), Module F (product verification), or Module E (product QA);
• Module G (unit verification);
• Module H1 (full quality assurance with design examination).

Notified Body involvement is mandatory throughout. The four-digit identification number appears next to the CE marking on both subsystems and safety components.

Technical documentation

Annex VIII (subsystems) and Annex IX (safety components) set the contents. Retention: 30 years for the safety report and technical documentation specific to the installation (Article 9(4)), 10 years for subsystem and safety component technical files (Article 11(7) and equivalents). See technical documentation.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Article 19 and Annex IX. Separate Declarations are issued for each subsystem and safety component placed on the market. See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Article 22 requires the CE marking with the Notified Body identification number on subsystems and safety components. The complete cableway installation does not bear a CE mark; it is identified by its operating authorisation issued under national law.

Harmonised standards

EN 1908 — safety requirements for cableway installations designed to carry persons — tensioning devices; EN 1709 — operational pre-commissioning, maintenance, and operational checks; EN 12397 — operation; EN 12927 series — ropes (calculations, fitting and replacement, fixing). See harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

The Regulation has not undergone structural amendment since 2016. The Commission has been working with CEN on standardisation requests to update the EN 1908 / EN 12927 series and to address newer installation types (urban cableway transport, cableway combined with rail).

Related legislation

• Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU — covers lifts in buildings; cableways are excluded from the Lifts Directive.
• Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — applies in parallel to certain mechanical components.
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU and EMC Directive 2014/30/EU — apply in parallel for electrical aspects of subsystems.
• Directive (EU) 2016/797 on the interoperability of the rail system — applies to funicular railways covered by that regime.

Common errors

• CE marking the entire installation. CE marking applies to subsystems and safety components, not to the installation as a whole.
• Missing safety analysis / safety report. Article 8 makes the safety analysis a substantive requirement; in service authorisation depends on the report.
• Subsystem placed on the market without Notified Body involvement. Notified Body assessment is mandatory for all subsystems and safety components in scope.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2016/424 (Cableway Installations) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• Directive 2000/9/EC (predecessor) — EUR-Lex.
• European Commission — Cableway installations sector page.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.