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.
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
