Bizarre But True! Switzerland built a train that climbs at 110% gradient. That’s 47.7 degrees. The Stoosbahn funicular holds the Guinness World Record for steepest funicular railway on the planet…
But here’s where it gets a bit strange: it’s not actually the steepest railway gradient anywhere(!) Australia’s Katoomba Scenic Railway hits 128% at 52 degrees. The record exists on a technicality.
Katoomba is classified as an “inclined lift” rather than a true funicular because it lacks a passing loop where two cars meet. The Stoosbahn has one. So the world record stands because of railway bureaucracy, which is somehow perfectly Swiss…
The Construction Was A Disaster Catalogue With Zero Injuries
On 29 November 2013, the material cableway used to transport construction equipment collapsed. Delays stretched into months. Tunnelling began in May 2014 but drills kept getting stuck in rock. Drill heads needed constant replacement.
The opening date was pushed back two years. Costs ballooned to 52 million CHF.
Workers wore mountaineering harnesses and ropes whilst working on terrain so steep that standing upright wasn’t an option. The health and safety challenges were massive but there wasn’t a single significant accident or injury during the entire construction period.
The Original Plan Was Scrapped Because Of A Shooting Range
The first design was a 3S cableway. Planning ran for a year before someone realised the nearby Selgis shooting range presented a problem. Protecting the cableway from stray bullets would require disproportionate effort.
The entire plan was abandoned. Welcome to Switzerland: where alpine engineering meets active firing ranges… and the bullets win.
It Took 11 Public Votes Over 14 Years
The people of the region were consulted eleven times through various referendums. In the commune of Morschach-Stoos alone, citizens went to the polls five times.
The commune has 1,110 inhabitants. They agreed to financing of CHF 5 million.
That’s a huge sum for a population that small. Peak Swiss democracy – voting nearly a dozen times to build a train that looks like it came from a sci-fi film, but exists primarily to deliver groceries.
The Cabins Rotate Like Beer Barrels
The futuristic cylinders rotate throughout the ride. Passenger cars remain horizontal throughout the four-minute journey even as the funicular tilts on tracks steep enough to make your inner ear panic.
Because of the enormous incline, there are 86 hold-down pulleys for the haul rope and counter rope. These prevent the ropes from taking off metres high into the air.
The train also heats buildings by going downhill. Since December 2022, the entire mountain station has been heated with waste heat from the engine room, using recuperative braking energy.
Ready To Ride The Record-Breaker Yourself?
This isn’t just a train ride. It’s a four-minute journey through engineering absurdity…
You can book excursions from Zurich that include the Stoosbahn experience and a visit to the car-free village of Stoos itself. The village sits at altitude, surrounded by alpine trails in summer and ski slopes in winter.
Check GetYourGuide below for package deals that combine the funicular with guided walks and local culture…
