The Kyiv Funicular ( ) is a steep slope railroad on Kyiv Hills that serves the city of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, connecting the historic '' Uppertown'', and the lower commercial neighborhood of Podil through the steep Volodymyrska Hill overseeing the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. The line consists of only two stations and is operated by the Kyiv city community enterprise Kyivpastrans.

History

The funicular was constructed during 1902–1905, and was first opened to the public on . The construction cost, about 230,000

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

, was covered by a Belgian owner of the Kyiv trams. The funicular was the project of Arthur Abrahamson, who received professional training on railroad engineering in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

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 ...

and

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Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The station vestibules were initially developed by N. Pyatnitskiy, and the railway structure was designed by N. Baryshnikov. Due to its proximity to the St. Michael's Cathedral, it was once named the ''Mykhailivskyi Mekhanichnyi Pidyom'' (, literally ''St. Michael's Mechanical Lift''). After the cathedral was destroyed by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities in 1935–1936, the name of the funicular was changed. In 1984 the lower station changed its outlook. It was redeveloped by architects Janos Vig, Valentine Yezhov, and others.

Various facts

The funicular uses the two rail and passing-loop system. The two cars are designated with the

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

letters ''Λ'' () and ''П'' () which stand for left and right cars. The funicular was renovated three times: in 1928, 1958, and 1984.

Track gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...

: . Total track length: . The total gradient of the slope on which the funicular runs on is 36%. The cable cars are powered by an

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

which is located inside the upper station and in tram type. The travel time between the stations is approximately 3 minutes. The route is from the Mykhailivska Square in the Uptown to the Poshtova Square in the Podil. The ticket price is much like for the other city-owned public transportation methods, ₴8 (approx. US$0.3 as of July 2018). The funicular provides daily service to 10,000-15,000 passengers, and annually to 2.8 million passengers. Originally funicular built as trams were unable to ride the grade. Later funicular fare was included in tram monthly tickets if tram is alone transport in it. The funicular was closed on September 25, 2006, for restoration, which is usually conducted every year. The total cost of the restoration was expected to be ₴455,400 (about US$90,500). The funicular is operated by Kyivpastrans.

Gallery

File:Київський фунікулер 1.jpg, Lower station File:Верхняя станция киевского фуникулёра.jpg, Upper station File:Фунікулер 1.JPG, Upper station with night illumination File:Киевский фуникулёр.JPG, Lower station File:Фунікулер 3.JPG, Lower station with night illumination File:Київський фунікулер 2.jpg, Carriage

References

External links

фунікулер
i
''Wiki-Encyclopedia Kyiv''

Photos of Kyiv Funicular
{{Transport in Kyiv Funicular railways in Ukraine Rail transport in Kyiv Metre-gauge railways in Ukraine Railway lines opened in 1905 Tourist attractions in Kyiv 1905 establishments in the Russian Empire

History

Various facts

Gallery

See also

References

External links