Funiculaire du Châtelard is a former

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 ends ...

at Emosson dam in the canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It leads from Le Châtelard 1129 m to ''Château d'Eau'' at 1821 m. It is part of Parc d'Attractions Verticalp, closed in 2022. The line has a length of 1302 m at a maximum incline of 87% and a difference of elevation of 693 m. The single-track line has two cars and a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

History

The funicular was built in 1921 for the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

Von Roll Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide that was founded in 1803. As one of Switzerland's longest-established industrial companies, Von Roll focuses today on products and systems for electrical applications such a ...

at the construction of the Barberine dam and opened to the public in 1935. It was also used for the construction of the Emosson dam (completed 1972). As of 2023, the line is owned by "Parc d'Attractions du Châtelard VS S.A.", previously named "Trains Touristiques d'Emosson SA" and "Société anonyme des transports Emosson-Barberine". In the 1970s, when the SBB-CFF planned to close the funicular, it was acquired by the newly formed company. The company entered restructuring in July 2022. In 2023, its website announced that another company may resume its operations.

References

Chatelard Transport in Valais Metre-gauge railways in Switzerland Railway lines opened in 1921 Railway lines closed in 2022 {{Switzerland-transport-stub de:Parc d’Attractions du Châtelard#Historische Standseilbahn