Take a trip on the world’s steepest funicular rail line

Posted by Aimee Pace on 10 January 2019

Take your travel goals to new heights and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the world’s steepest funicular rail line, the Schwyz-Stoos funicular in Switzerland’s Stoos resort, with a ridiculous 110% gradient.

Renowned as a triumph of Swiss engineering and technological advancements, a level-adjusting function allows the otherworldly carriages to remain horizontal while speeding up the steep plains of the mountain at 10 metres a second.

This marvel is located in the alpine resort of Stoos, 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) above sea-level in central Switzerland and transports its passengers above the clouds at a steep gradient that can only be experienced there.

The train has cylindrical carriages that closely resemble beer barrels, a unique design that allows passengers to remain upright at all times while they travel along the 1,720-metre track.

 

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Blue mountain cinema

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The route runs from the valley station near Schwyz and up into the mountainous village of Stoos just 50km south of Zurich, which has a tiny population of 100.

The Gondola Project, a website dedicated to cable-propelled transport systems, said, “Prior to breaking ground, the planning and implementation of this funicular had to overcome a number of challenges. Designers analysed fifteen different options before selecting the existing route alignment and technology.”

Before the Schwyz-Stoos funicular, the Gelmerbahn funicular at Bern, also in Switzerland, was previously the world’s steepest, with a maximum gradient of 106%.

 

 

 

Pictures: Facebook

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