Reichenbachfall Funicular

The Reichenbachfall Funicular (German: Reichenbachfall-Bahn; RfB) is a funicular in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss canton of Berne. It links Willigen, near Meiringen, with the uppermost of the Reichenbach Falls, famous as the site of the apparent death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional hero, Sherlock Holmes. On its route the line follows and crosses the lower falls of the Reichenbach.[1][2]

Reichenbachfall Funicular
The lower station
Overview
TypeFunicular
StatusOpen
LocaleBernese Oberland,
Canton of Berne,
Switzerland
TerminiWilligen (Reichenbachfallbahn)
Reichenbachfall
Stations2
Operation
Opened1899
Technical
Track length714 metres (2,343 ft)
Track gaugeMetre (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)
Highest elevation843 metres (2,766 ft)
Maximum incline61%

The funicular was opened in 1899, and was rebuilt in 1999 to the original design. Between 1912 and 1956, it was linked to Meiringen by the Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht tramway. Today it is owned by the EWR Energie company, which operates the adjacent hydroelectric power plant, but is maintained by the neighbouring Kraftwerke Oberhasli company, which also operates several other lines in the area. It has the following parameters:[1][2][3][4]

Number of cars 2
Number of stops 3
Configuration Single track with passing loop
Track length 714 metres (2,343 ft)
Rise 242 metres (794 ft)
Maximum gradient 61%
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Capacity 24 passengers per car
Traction Electric
Speed 2 metres per second (6.6 ft/s)
Journey time 7.5 mins

The funicular operates only between May and mid-October. During this period it operates every 15 minutes from 09:00 to 17:00. The lower station is some 20 minutes walk, or a 6-minute bus ride, from Meiringen station on the Brünig railway line.[1][5]

  • Car in lower station
  • At the passing loop
  • Looking down on the upper station
  • The line's longest bridge, circa 1910

References
  1. Richard Green (2007). Railways in the Berner Oberland - Part 3. Today's Railways Europe: Issue 134: February 2007. Platform 5 Publishing Ltd.
  2. "61 036 Reichenbach Falls train, Meiringen, funicular". Swiss Inventory of Ropeways (in German). Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  3. "Grimselwelt - Transport Lifts". KWO. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  4. "Kraftwerke übernehmen Betrieb der Reichenbachfall-Bahn". bernerzeitung.ch. Berner Zeitung. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  5. "Meiringen RfB–Reichenbachfall" (PDF). Bundesamt für Verkehr. Retrieved 2014-04-24.


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