New Swiss funicular railway offers its passengers spectacular sights
Dec 20, 2017, 5:23 AM
A winter wonderland from 3,300 feet?
That’s right.
In the Swiss Alps, riders are practically carried up the slope in a straight vertical line at the world’s steepest railway in Switzerland.
The snow-covered mountain peaks are no match for a custom-made cable that can carry 1,500 people per hour up the slope on the line, called the Stoosbahn.
A YouTube video shows it going up the slope with ease.
The cars, which have cylindrical cabins, take its customers to the village of Stoos, deep in the Swiss mountains. At its peak, the gradient reaches 111 percent.
The cars resemble hamster wheels and have floors that always keep the passengers on level ground.
The funicular railway, or is a cliff railway, pulls cars by a cable similar to how a tram works. The cable moves the cars up and down the slope.
The rail line goes through three newly constructed tunnels, which took 14 years to complete. The rail line went into service on Dec. 17.