Editing Aerial tramway (section)

== Terminology ==
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''Cable car'' is the usual term in British English, where ''tramway'' generally refers to a railed [[Tram system|street tramway]]. In American English, ''cable car'' may additionally refer to a cable-pulled street tramway with detachable vehicles (e.g., [[San Francisco cable car system|San Francisco's cable cars]]). Consequently careful phrasing is necessary to prevent confusion.

It is also sometimes called a ''ropeway'' or even incorrectly referred to as a [[gondola lift]]. A gondola lift has cabins suspended from a continuously circulating cable whereas aerial trams simply shuttle back and forth on cables. In Japan, the two are considered as the same category of vehicle and called ''ropeway'', while the term ''cable car'' refers to both [[Cable car (railway)|ground-level cable cars]] and [[funicular]]s. An aerial railway where the vehicles are suspended from a fixed track as opposed to a cable is known as a [[suspension railway]].