Pilatusbahn, Switzerland

The Pilatus railway (Pilatusbahn in German) is located in Switzerland and is the steepest railway in the world. It was opened in 1889. The line runs from Alpnachstad to the top of Mount Pilatus, it takes 30 minutes to bridge the difficult and dangerous distance. On the final section of the route the train passes through the narrow tunnel, at the exit from which passengers can immediately see the edge of the cliff.

Train traffic along rocky breakages lasts a few minutes, once reliable fencing and embankment on some sections of the road collapsed a long time ago, the tracks thus protrude slightly over the edge of the fragile cliff. The famous engineer Eduard Locher has worked on the project. It is his invention of the cogwheel system that is used throughout the world nowadays. With the help of this system it became possible to pave the railway in difficult mountain terrain. Carriages fitted with the cogwheels, confidently pass the steep up and down gradients as well as the sections of the road with flat surface.

Nowadays, 10 red carriages, designed to hold 40 passengers, are shuttling constantly. The carriages move with a speed not exceeding 12 km/h, which allows to transport up to 340 passengers hourly. In all the carriages the atmosphere of the middle of the last century has been recreated, which makes the trip even more interesting. If you do not lean out of the window, the trip will seem maximally comfortable, but if you do, you can catch the fragrance of mountain flowers and even pick them from the steep slopes. Next - Duffy's Cut