The Guindais Funicular ( pt, Funicular dos Guindais) is a

funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória is a civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso Santo Ildefonso () is a former civi ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

History

The original line was inaugurated on 3 June 1891. Almost exactly 2 years later, on 5 June 1893, there was an accident caused by excess velocity, and the funicular car was decommissioned. The former "House" of the funicular railway was by 1893 occupied by an

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

operated by sculptor Henrique Moreira. It was later remodelled to function as a meeting hall for local Jehovah's Witnesses. As part of a larger initiative to improve the transport infrastructure of Porto, a new funicular and station was inaugurated on 19 February 2004, following the same line as before.

Architecture

The funicular is situated along the wall of ''Freiras'', running down a steep cliff between the quay at Guindais and ''Rua da Batalha'' (terminating at building of the Civil Governor). Owned and operated by the

Porto Metro The Porto Metro ( pt, Metro do Porto), part of the public transport (mass transit) system of Porto, Portugal, is a light rail network that runs underground in central Porto and above ground into the city's suburbs. ''Metro do Porto S.A.'' was f ...

, the single-track funicular uses a central loop system that is long, allowing it to descend , with the upper situated within the passenger tunnel, with the markedly steep gradient in the section below the passing loop. Two vehicles run the course, with a capacity for 25 persons each, operating at a maximum speed of . Due to the difference in

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...

along the line, the cars have self-levelling platforms, allowing the car floor to maintain itself horizontal no matter the track incline. Although the journey is short (approximately 3 minutes) after emerging from the upper tunnel, passengers are able to view the landscape from the

Dom Luís I Bridge The Dom Luís I Bridge ( pt, Ponte de Dom Luís I), or Luís I Bridge, is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. At its construction, its span was the longest o ...

, the river margins (including both quays along Ribeira and Cais de Gaia and the Port wine warehouses and traditional boats along the

Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

Oporto - Funicular dos Guindais - 20110425 132242

The service is commonly used by locals/commuters to access the river and metro services, including the metro at São Bento: the service runs from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, with extended hours to midnight on weekends and holidays.

Gallery

Porto FuniculardosGuindais.jpg, Car at the passing loop Oporto (Portugal) (23958192671).jpg, Two the funicular cars as they each reach the passing loop Blick auf die Standseilbahn (14003780122).jpg, The lower station Porto - Funicular dos Guindais (8297300055).jpg, The upper station Funicular dos Guindais (Porto).JPG A cable car, Porto, Portugal.JPG, A close up of a car in extended mode

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Porto Funicular fan site
{{Railway lines in Portugal Porto Metro Funicular Guindais Transport infrastructure in Porto 1891 establishments in Portugal