World's steepest railway opens as tourist attraction in Switzerland
POSTED 18 Dec 2017 . BY Tom Anstey
The record-breaking CHF52m (US$53m, €45m, £40m) railway took 14 years to build
The world’s steepest funicular railway has opened in Schwyz, Switzerland, doubling as a new tourist attraction and a way for locals to reach the car-free Alpine village of Stoos.
Using specially constructed cylindrical carriages designed to tilt and adjust to the 110 per cent gradient of the mountain track, the Stoos Bahn railway runs over 1,720m (5,640ft) from the valley floor to the Fronalpstock mountain plateau at 1,300m (4,300ft).
Rising 743m (2,440ft) on its four-minute journey, the train’s four cabins can carry 136 people at a time, reaching speeds of up to 10 metres per second (36kmph).
“This technical marvel turns a journey into an experience,” said the railway’s operator.
“In the summer, the mountain village is a destination for varied family outings and offers versatile mountain sports. In the winter, 35km (21.7m) of fun on the slopes can be experienced between Fronalpstock and Klingenstock.”
The record-breaking CHF52m (US$53m, €45m, £40m) railway took 14 years to build. Close to Lake Lucerne, the Stoos Bahn beats the previous record holder – the Gelmerbahn – a funicular railway, also in Switzerland, which reaches a gradient of 106 per cent on its ascent to the Gelmersee lake.
Switzerland’s president, Doris Leuthard, inaugurated the new line on 15 December. It replaces the Schwyz-Stoos cable car, which had been in operation since 1933.
Cylindrical carriages are designed to tilt and adjust to the 110 per cent gradient of the mountain track
It replaces the Schwyz-Stoos cable car
PROJECT PROFILE: Stoos Bahn The world’s steepest funicular railway has opened in Schwyz, Switzerland, doubling as a
new tourist attraction and a way for locals to reach the car-free Alpine village of Stoos.
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World's steepest railway opens as tourist attraction in Switzerland
POSTED 18 Dec 2017 . BY Tom Anstey
The record-breaking CHF52m (US$53m, €45m, £40m) railway took 14 years to build
The world’s steepest funicular railway has opened in Schwyz, Switzerland, doubling as a new tourist attraction and a way for locals to reach the car-free Alpine village of Stoos.
Using specially constructed cylindrical carriages designed to tilt and adjust to the 110 per cent gradient of the mountain track, the Stoos Bahn railway runs over 1,720m (5,640ft) from the valley floor to the Fronalpstock mountain plateau at 1,300m (4,300ft).
Rising 743m (2,440ft) on its four-minute journey, the train’s four cabins can carry 136 people at a time, reaching speeds of up to 10 metres per second (36kmph).
“This technical marvel turns a journey into an experience,” said the railway’s operator.
“In the summer, the mountain village is a destination for varied family outings and offers versatile mountain sports. In the winter, 35km (21.7m) of fun on the slopes can be experienced between Fronalpstock and Klingenstock.”
The record-breaking CHF52m (US$53m, €45m, £40m) railway took 14 years to build. Close to Lake Lucerne, the Stoos Bahn beats the previous record holder – the Gelmerbahn – a funicular railway, also in Switzerland, which reaches a gradient of 106 per cent on its ascent to the Gelmersee lake.
Switzerland’s president, Doris Leuthard, inaugurated the new line on 15 December. It replaces the Schwyz-Stoos cable car, which had been in operation since 1933.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
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