Odessa Funicular

The Odessa Funicular (Ukrainian: Одеський фунікулер; Russian: Одесский фуникулёр), serves the Ukrainian city of Odessa. Running alongside the Potemkin Stairs, it connects the Primorsky Boulevard with the Port of Odessa.[1]

Odessa Funicular
(Одеський фунікулер)
Overview
TypeInclined lift
LocaleOdessa, Ukraine
Coordinates46°29′18.2″N 30°44′31.9″E
TerminiMorsky Port (lower station)
Primorsky (upper station)
Stations2
Operation
Opened1902[1]
Technical
Line length130 metres (430 ft)[1]
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)

Despite what its name suggests, in its modern state the Odessa Funicular is not technically a funicular, but rather a double inclined lift.[1][2] The system was built by the "Skylift" from Kiev.[3]

History
Odessa Funicular. circa early XX century

The funicular was designed by the engineer N. I. Pyatnitsky and opened on 8 June 1902. It was equipped with two passenger cabins for 35 persons each delivered from Paris.

In 1969 the original system was replaced by a cascade of escalators, which had to be closed in 1997.

Then in 1998, the city council decided to restore the service, this time in a form of an inclined elevator. Construction started in the same year, but they were delayed until 2005, and the ropeway was reopened on 2 September 2005.[1]

On 27 September 2016 it has temporarily interrupted the service due to repairs to the Potemkin Stairs.[4]

Route

Located in the old town, the central city district, the line starts at the Primorsky Boulevard (Primorsky Bulvar), in which lies the upper station, that is close to the Opera Theater. The line and ends at Primorska Street (Prymorska Vulitsya), by the Black Sea coastline. The lower station, "Morsky Port", lies in front of the city port and is next to the port's railway station.

Originally built with a single track and a passing loop in the middle, it has now two metre gauge tracks, and runs for 130 metres (430 ft)[1], alongside the Potemkin Stairs and the Stambulsky Park. Each car has capacity for 12 passengers and the ride takes 3.5 minutes.[1]

  • The lower station and the Potemkin Stairs
  • The upper station
  • The port seen from the funicular
  • View of a car
  • View of a car

Literature
  • Nicolas Iljine, Bel Kaufman, Oleg Gubar: Odessa Memories. University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2004 - ISBN 0-295-98345-0

See also

References
  1. Вверх-вниз вдоль Потемкинской лестницы на фуникулере, экскалаторе и лифте (in Russian). ЧАО "Сегодня Мультимедиа". 2008-10-11.
  2. Pyrgidis, Christos N. (2016-01-04). "Cable railway systems for steep gradients". Railway Transportation Systems: Design, Construction and Operation. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-4822-6215-5.
  3. Наклонный лифт (in Russian). ООО «Скайлифт».
  4. "Odessa Funicular Ceases Work" Archived 2016-11-04 at the Wayback Machine. The Odesa Times, 27-9-2016
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