Switzerland launches world's steepest railway line

With a gradient of nearly 48 degrees, Schwyz-Stoos in Switzerland is currently the steepest funicular railway in the world.

The Schwyz-Stoos railway (German name: Standseilbahn Schwyz-Stoos), which cost 44.6 million euros to build and began operating on December 17, is hailed as a great achievement of modern engineering.

The opening ceremony was held at the Stoos Alpine resort in central Switzerland.

The train cars are designed to be cylindrical like beer barrels, keeping passengers in an upright position, even when the train is going up or downhill along the 1,720 meter route. The route has a gradient of up to 110% (47.7º).

The train departs from a valley station near Schwyz and heads to the mountain village of Stoos, home to just 100 people, some 50km south of Zurich.

The Stoos train line is designed with an incline adjustment system.

Ivan Steiner, a spokesman for the railway, said the line replaces an old line that had been in operation since 1933. “After 14 years of planning and construction, everyone is very proud of this line,” he said.

Gondola Project, a website about cable transport systems, said the plan to build the Schwyz-Stoos railway encountered a number of challenges before construction began: “The designers had to analyze 15 different options before choosing the current route and technology.”

The Gelmerbahn in the Swiss capital Bern was previously the steepest railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 106%. The East Cliff Lift, built in 1902, was the steepest railway in Britain, with a gradient of 78%. However, all of these have since been beaten by the Schwyz-Stoos railway.

According to Khoahoc.tv