Gelmer Funicular

Gelmerbahn
Car on the steepest part of the line
Overview
Statusin operation
OwnerKraftwerke Oberhasli AG
LocaleCanton of Bern, Switzerland
Termini
  • Handegg
  • Gelmersee
Stations2
Service
Typefunicular
Operator(s)Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG
Rolling stock1 for 24 passengers
History
Opened1926
Open to the public2001
Federal concession2004
Technical
Track length1,028 metres (3,373 ft)
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrificationfrom opening
Operating speed2 metres per second (6.6 ft/s)
Highest elevation1,850 m (6,070 ft)
Maximum incline106% (avg. 49.4%)
View down the line
Car just below the upper station

The Gelmer Funicular is a cable railway in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus at Handegg, in the Haslital (the valley of the upper Aar River), with an upper terminus at the Gelmersee lake, 448 m above.[1][2]

With an incline of 106% (or 47°), Gelmerbahn was the steepest funicular in Switzerland and Europe, until the opening of the new Stoos Funicular in 2017. The Handegg terminus of the line is close to the road over the Grimsel Pass. It is accessible by car and by an infrequent PostBus service.[1][2][3] It is technically not a funicular, which has two cars that counterbalance each other, but is propelled by a winch.

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