Did you know the steepest railway in the world hits a dizzying pitch of 47.7º? This is the The Stoos Bahn connecting the Schwyz Valley and the car-free city of Storrs in the Swiss Alps. To keep passengers from falling over during the severe climb, the floors tilt, adjusting to the slope as the funicular climbs at a gradient of 110% at its steepest point (think hamster wheel on a rollercoaster climb). This wonder of alpine engineering took 14 years to build at a cost of $53 million. If you’re afraid of heights you might want to just keep your eyes closed the entire time, its usually only a 4 minute ride:
POV FULL RIDE:
STOOS BAHN FACTS:
110 percent maximum incline can be overcome by the Stoos railway. World record! No other funicular railway in the world is steeper.
1,500 passengers per direction of travel can be transported in one hour. That is 500 passengers more than with the old funicular railway.
4 – 7 minutes is the travel time. Much less than with the old funicular railway. Much more important: The mountain station of the new funicular railway is located in the middle of the village directly within the ski area – a huge plus in terms of comfort!
744 metres elevation gain the railway goes from Schwyz-Schlattli to Stoos. The best part: Thanks to the automatic level compensation of the cabins you always stand horizontally – really comfortable! The railway is wheelchair accessible.
1,740 metres is the distance of the route from the valley station to the mountain station.
34 passengers fit in a cabin. Four cabins per wagon amounts to a transportation capacity of 136 passengers per ride.
↓↓↓ORIGINAL CABIN DESIGN BELOW↓↓↓
images from swissinfo.ch