Heidelberg – Good news !

Heidelberg, Baden Wurttemberg, Germany.Following the Kaprun tragedy, the upper section of the funicular of Heidelberg (Koenigstuhlbahn, in service since 1907) was closed on April 30th 2003 for security reasons. Fortunately it was decided to restore the wooden cars and to keep their old-time appearance. November 2004, the new wooden bodywork of the saved Koenigstuhlbahn. The lower section of the funicular of Heidelberg (Molkenkurbahn) is being completely rebuilt and will have two new cars. The inauguration will take place in the spring of 2005. More information: www.koenigstuhlbahn.de November 24th, 2004, the new cars, designed by Swoboda (Oberweis, Austria), are installed on the rails of the first section (photo Dagmar Welker).

Beatenberg, a complete reconstruction !

Beatenberg, canton of Bern, Switzerland.The funicular Thunersee Beatenberg Bahn (TBB), built in 1889 at the edge of the lake of Thun, is stopped since October 25th, 2004 and will undergo a complete reconstruction.The construction work is planned to last until about the end of June 2005.


The future new car designed by Gangloff, Bern.

Gardena Ronda Express – Final phases

Val Gardena, Alto Adige, Italy.A new funicular was built in Val Gardena, in the Dolomites, north of Italy, in the Santa Cristina ski resort.It is an underground railway 1261.74 m long, with a 138 m level difference and 11,66 % maximum gradient. It has two cars, each with a capacity for 140 passengers.
Manufacturer: Leitner Spa and Poma Italy.
Cars: Gangloff, Bern.

The two cars were delivered on October 5th, 2004. The inauguration will take place on December the 4th, 2004.


The site of the Gardena Ronda Express project.

The Fun’ambule is out of order! Photos

Neuchatel, Switzerland, Monday November 8th, 2004.The glass roof of the bottom station is removed to ensure the extraction of the red car which is visible at the bottom left corner of the photo.

Photo Christian Jaccard (Travaux publics de la Ville de Neuchâtel)A crane is going to pick the red car up to the surface.

Photo Christian Jaccard (Travaux publics de la Ville de Neuchâtel)

The red car called ‘Maxime’ is emerging.

Photo Christian Jaccard (Travaux publics de la Ville de Neuchâtel)

‘Maxime’ is extracted from the underground station.

Photo Christian Jaccard (Travaux publics de la Ville de Neuchâtel)

‘Maxime’ is put on a truck and is transported to Garaventa AG Goldau (Canton of Schwitz) to be inspected and repaired. The first passenger compartment seems to be out of the axle of the other compartments.

Photo Christian Jaccard (Travaux publics de la Ville de Neuchâtel)

The Fun’ambule is out of order!

Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Saturday October 30th, 2004 near 8 pm, the red car of the Fun’ambule funicular lost a screw, the ten passengers were safely evacuated. Two hours after during a test course without passengers, the red car went off the rails causing important damage to the carriage. The red car was transported to the manufacturer, Garaventa AG in Goldau. The funicular will be out of order for some weeks.
The Fun’ambule was opened on April 27th, 2001. It is an underground subway which links the Neuchatel train station to the University area.
See a full article in Funimag issue 20.
The red car at the lower station (September 2001)