The Stoos Bahn – the steepest funicular railway in the world – has opened in Switzerland, 14 years in the making and at a cost of £40 million to build.
According to the Independent, the railway has gradients of up to 110 per cent, running from the town of Schwyz to the village of Stoos beneath the Fronalpstock mountain.
The funicular itself boasts four cylindrical carriages that can carry up to 34 people travelling at ten miles a second, with the whole journey taking just four minutes. The design of the railway itself has been lavished with praise because the cabins are able to adjust to gradient changes so the floor will always stay level.
It opened on December 17th and a railway spokesman was quoted by the news source as saying: “After 14 years of planning and building, everyone is very proud of this train.”
The previous funicular had been serving this part of Switzerland well since 1933 so it seems reasonable that they’ve given it a bit of an upgrade! The track itself goes through the side of the mountain for part of the way and takes passengers up 743m in total.
A funicular railway is a kind of cable railway where a cable is attached to carriages (similar to what you might see on a tram) on rails to take them up and down steep slopes. The ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance one another.
The oldest funicular is the Reisszug, which provides access to Hohensalzburg Castle in Salzburg. When it was first used, it featured wooden rales and a haulage rope that was powered by either people or animals!
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