The World’s Steepest Cliff Railway

The new funicular railway running to the Swiss mountain village of Stoos is the steepest of its kind in the world. 110% in its maximum slope – world record

Replacing an older route dating from 1933, the new track is powered by custom-made ABB motors, as well as traction components and cabling.

Transportation in Switzerland can be fairly difficult, especially up the steepest of mountainsides.

This is especially true up the steep slope of Fronalpstock mountain, where the world’s steepest funicular, the Stoosbahn, has opened to the public over this past weekend — after 14 years of planning and construction.

The funicular, which is a cable-based railway car that’s used for transportation, uses a revolutionary, circular car design with tilted floors to keep passengers perfectly level throughout their journey of about a mile. About half of that mile is spent on an incline.

Over the course of that journey, which runs between the towns of Schwyz and Stoos, the cars ride at a 52-degree incline at its steepest point. The entire journey takes about four minutes, according to the BBC.

Each car carries up to 34 people at a time. The entire project cost 52 million Swiss Francs — or about $52.6 million USD — to complete.

“After 14 years of planning and building, everyone is very proud of this train,” said railway spokesperson Ivan Steiner in a statement, Reuters reported.

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