Chain lifts have been used to move roller coaster trains to the top of lift hills for over 100 years.

An electric motor runs a chain from the bottom of the hill to the top. A chain dog under the car clicks into the chain and the car is then hauled up the hill by the chain. The chain on the hill runs constantly and the cars just move up to catch the chain to get brought to the top of the hill. An anti roll back system is in place for these systems to prevent the chain dog from slipping and the roller coaster from rolling back down the hill.

Some coasters have double chain systems to run to pull heavier trains or pull trains up steeper hills.

Newer and more modern form of lifting trains for roller coasters. Only found on the newer and bigger roller coasters right now. Usually only used in coasters that have a initial lift hill height of over 200ft. It can get roller coaster train cars to the top of hills much faster than the traditional chain lift. This lift method does not have the normal lift click clack sound. It utilizes a newer magnetic field system to prevent the roller coaster from sliding back. The cable lift only runs when the train climbs the hill reducing energy being used as well as wear and tear on the system. A down side to this system is that the cable must come back down to the bottom of the hill before going back up with another passenger group which slows down the ride process.