The popular Goldbelt Tram in downtown Juneau will remain closed as it undergoes repairs and inspections, according to Goldbelt Inc. President and CEO McHugh Pierre.
The tram has been closed since late April after a tram car came to an abrupt halt at its bottom terminal. The incident sent two employees to the hospital with injuries.
The tram was scheduled to reopen on May 24, but in an interview with KTOO Friday afternoon, Pierre said that’s no longer the case.
“There is no date set to open until we are certified safe to operate. We don’t know when that date will be,” he said. “We anticipate opening this year. This is not a lost season, but we want to make sure that again, safety is the priority — the only priority.”
Pierre declined to go into detail about what caused the incident or the status of the injured employees, citing legal reasons. But, he said, Goldbelt is working with multiple entities to inspect and repair the tram’s cars and infrastructure so that an incident like this does not happen again.
The closure comes nearly a month into Juneau’s 2026 cruise ship tourism season. The tram is a popular visitor attraction that brings hundreds of thousands of riders up and down Mount Roberts each year.
Pierre said residents and visitors should expect to see some changes at the terminals in the coming weeks.
“We are going to take the tram cars off of the cables,” he said. “You’ll see the cars move, they’ll be gone, and they’ll get worked on and repaired, inspected, and certified, and then we’ll mount them back on the cables for use.”
Pierre said while the tram is not running, Goldbelt has reopened its bottom terminal for visitors, which has a coffee shop and gift section. He said Goldbelt is working to retain as many seasonal employees as it can during the closure.
Earlier this month, Goldbelt announced it would be refunding all prepaid tickets for timeslots during the closure period and issued a refund to season pass holders. But, he said, once the tram opens back up, those season passes will still be valid for use.
He said Goldbelt plans to keep people informed about the status of the tram on its social media page and website.
