The new funicular Taksim – Kabatas which will be in use at the end of 2005. 
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 13, 2005.
Due to the construction of the new city metro m2, the presently used trains Lausanne-Ouchy (LO) and Lausanne-Gare (LG) will stop service on January 22, 2006.
The “Transports publics de la région Lausannoise” let for free all the rolling stock of the two cog wheel lines : Lausanne-Ouchy (LO) and Lausanne-Gare (LG) which were first funicular railways between 1877 and 1958.
Any firms, associations or museums who may be interested in acquiring one or another of these vehicles can contact Mr. Alain Sauterel.
The list of the rolling stock :
From LG : 2 cog wheel electric railcars, Strub system.
From LO : 3 cog wheel electric railcars, Strub system, 5 passager cars.
Details on the official site www.t-l.ch/entreprise/vehicule.htm
The Museum of Transport at Lucerne refused to receive any of these rolling stock !
Lausanne – Gare (LG)
Lausanne – Ouchy (LO)
August 22nd, 2005,
Floods have brought chaos to a large swathe of central Switzerland, triggering landslides and cutting roads and railway lines.
The Die Zentral Bahn line Interlaken – Meiringen was cut at Brienz because of a landslide.
The Die Zentral Bahn Luzern – Stans – Engelberg railway line was swept away between Wolfenschiessen and Engelberg !
The Stanserhorn Bahn funicular track was swept away because of the strong rain streaming. The funicular is out of service till September 9th 2005.
In Vaud canton the small village of Morcles was completly isolated from Saint Maurice valley. The Lavey – Dailly underground military funicular was used to feed the village and to evacuate people in case of urgent need.
Stanserhorn Bahn (Photo pd zisch.ch)
Stanserhorn Bahn (Photo ZVG)
Beatenberg, canton of Bern, Switzerland. Saturday July 2, 2005. The Thunersee Beatenberg Bahn is in use again. It was stopped since October 25th, 2004 and has been completly rebuilt. The two new cars are named "Niederhorn" and "Beatenberg". 
(Photo Dora Schmid-Zürcher)
After the hurricanes, the Swiss federal autorities were worried about the stability of the funicular Unterwasser-Iltios in the Toggenburg Valley… why this funicular in particular ? Because of the 0,80 meter gauge which was judged insufficient to ensure the stability of the cars in case of hurricanes.
It was decided to enlarge the gauge of the entire line, from 0,80 to 1 meter.
The iron bridges will be replaced, the rails will be removed and reinstalled over a new concrete base.
On April 14, 2005 the two old red cars have been transported to Gangloff Bern to be modified to be adapted to the new 1 meter gauge.
Modifying the old cars rather than installing modern new cars, it is the decision taken for economical reasons.
The funicular Unterwasser-Iltios will reopen on September 3, 2005.
The replacement of the old cars by modern ones is planed for 2012.
More informations on Jörg Walker site.
(Photo Heinrich Guettinger)
(Photo Dora Schmid-Zürcher)