The Budapest Castle Hill Funicular or Budavári Sikló 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 city of
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. It links the Adam Clark Square and the
Széchenyi Chain Bridge
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge ( hu, Széchenyi lánchíd ) is a chain bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark ...
at river level to
Buda Castle
Buda Castle ( hu, Budavári Palota, german: link=no, Burgpalast) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the si ...
above.
The line was opened on March 2, 1870, and has been in municipal ownership since 1920. It was destroyed in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and reopened on June 4, 1986. A feature of the line are the two pedestrian foot bridges which cross above it. These were present when the line opened, were removed in 1900 when the castle's garden was extended, and rebuilt to the original design in 1983.
History
The building of the line started in July 1868, the first test run was on 23 October 1869. The Sikló has operated for the public since 2 March 1870. This funicular rail was the second in Europe, only
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
had a similar transportation system at that time.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
the cars and the terminals were destroyed by bombs.
The remnants of the funicular were then dismantled. Replacement with escalators was considered later. Reconstruction of the funicular was decided in 1965, and several plans were made, but the construction works were delayed. A midibus service between the two termini (line "V") was launched in 1975. This was in operation until the line was finally reopened in 1986.
Technical parameters
The line has the following technical parameters:
*Length:
*Height:
*
gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
: 31.75° (62%)
*Cars: 2
*Capacity: 24 passengers per car
*Configuration:
Double track
*Maximum speed:
*
Track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many ...
:
*Traction: Electricity
*Trip time: 1 minute 30 seconds
Operation
The line is operated by the
BKV (Mass Transport Company of Budapest), and operates from 07.30 to 22.00 each day.
It is subject to special fare.
Gallery
File:Siklo2.jpg , Looking up the line, showing the distinctive foot bridges
File:Castle Hill Fun1.jpg , View from the front of the funicular
See also
*
List of funicular railways
This is a list of funicular railways, organised by place within country and continent. The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways.
A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline eleva ...
References
Further reading
Zoltán Fónagy: Furnicular of Budain the online database
The Castle of BudaCastle Hill
{{Public transport in Budapest
Funicular railways in Hungary
Transport in Budapest
Industrial archaeological sites in Hungary
Buda Castle