Funiculaire Saint-Imier – Mont-Soleil

Funiculaire Saint-Imier – Mont-Soleil is a funicular railway in the Jura Mountains, Switzerland. The line leads from the village of Saint-Imier at 828 m to the station Mont-Soleil at 1179 m,[1] on Mont Soleil (1291 m). The line of 743 m in length has a difference of elevation of 351 m at a maximum inclination of 60%.[1]

Funiculaire Saint-Imier - Mont-Soleil
aerial view (1930)
Overview
Other name(s)Funisolaire;
Chemin de fer funiculaire Saint-Imier - Sonnenberg;
Funiculaire du Sonnenberg;
Sonnenbergbahn
StatusIn operation
OwnerFuniculaire Saint-Imier - Mont-Soleil SA
LocaleSaint-Imier, Switzerland
Termini
  • St-Imier (funiculaire) at Rue des Roches 31
  • Mont-Soleil (funiculaire)
Stations2
Websitefunisolaire.ch
Service
TypeFunicular
Operator(s)Funiculaire Saint-Imier - Mont-Soleil SA
Rolling stock1 for 60 persons (since 2003); 2 (before, for 54 persons in 1969)[1]
History
OpenedAugust 10, 1903 (1903-08-10)[2]
Technical
Line length743 m (2,438 ft); before 2003: 728 m (2,388 ft)[1]
Number of tracks1 (before 2003: with passing loop)[1]
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[1]
Operating speed5 metres per second (16 ft/s); before 2003: 2.5 metres per second (8.2 ft/s)[1]
Highest elevation1,179 metres (3,868 ft) (since 2003)[1]
Maximum incline60% (min. 39%)[1]

Built in 1903[2] as a single-track line with two cars and a passing loop, the track was lengthened and converted to a single car operation in 2003.[1] The line includes several bridges and a tunnel.[1][3]

The base station is ca. 800 m from St-Imier railway station.

The railway is owned and operated by Funiculaire Saint-Imier - Mont-Soleil SA.[4]

Further reading

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  • 1903-2003: un siècle d'allers-retours (PDF) (in French), archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2019

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Quelques données techniques (in French), archived from the original on 25 October 2009
  2. ^ a b Mathys, Ernst (1942), Hundert Jahre Schweizerbahnen, historisch und technisch dargestellt, 1841-1941; Les chemins de fer suisses au cours d'un siècle, aperçu historique et technique, 1841-1941 (in German and French), Bern, pp. 20, 68, 254{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Smallenburg, F. W. (1903–1904), "Le funiculaire St-Imier-Sonnenberg", Bulletin Technique de la Suisse Romande (in French), 29/30 (22/6): 293–298, 156–158
  4. ^ Organisation - Funiculaire Saint-Imier--Mont-Soleil (in French), archived from the original on 19 September 2021
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