Funicular built by CFD and SKIRAIL in 1989
History
The town of Thonon-les-Bains, sub-prefecture of Haute-Savoie is located about 40 meters above Lake Geneva. A major problem of the city is the connection between the upper town and the port of Rives and its old fishing village located at the level of the lake. At the end of the 19th century, the municipality set out to find a solution to improve this link and in 1888 a first funicular was inaugurated, 243 metres long. First renovated in 1951, the old funicular was replaced by a brand new automatic system in 1989 built by CFD and SKIRAIL.
This 243-metre long funicular is a single-track reversible funicular. Two 53-passenger cabins ascend and descend on the same track and cross in the middle of the line on a siding The unique feature of this funicular in the world is that the crossing is on a curve. CFD carried out the design and construction of the rolling base and vehicle bodies for SKIRAIL.
Thonon-les-Bains funicular railway siding
Funicular vehicle of Thonon-les-Bains
Funicular vehicle of Thonon-les-Bains
Capacity
The two cabins allow the transport of up to 1500 passengers per hour and per direction of travel. In practice, the Thonon-les-Bains funicular manager, by reducing the number of return trips per hour, effectively limits the capacity to 650 passengers per hour and per direction
Technical specifications
The 243-metre line has a total height difference of 46 metres and an average slope of 20%. The installation is almost fully automatic and is controlled by an operator from the arrival station at lake level. The curved crossing requires a rolling base of unfailing reliability to guarantee a totally safe crossing
- 53 passengers per cabin
- 20% slope on average
- Curved crossing, unique in the world
- Maximum capacity of 1500 passengers per hour and per direction
- Approximately 250,000 passengers per year, over 363 days
- Speed of approx. 2.5 m/s
