The Ritom funicular ( it, Funicolare del Ritom) 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 e ...

in the

canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus at Piotta, in the valley of the

Ticino River The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows. It is one of the four ...

near the southern portal of the

Gotthard Tunnel , it, Galleria del San Gottardo , other_name = , line = Gotthard Line , location = Traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the middle of the Swiss Alps , coordinates = , os_grid_ref = , status = , system ...

, with an upper terminus at Piora, a walk from

Ritom Lake __NOTOC__ Lago Ritom is a lake in the Piora valley, Ticino, Switzerland. The natural lake is used as a reservoir by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) to generate hydro-electric power for the Gotthard line. The first dam was built in 1918 ...

. There is also an intermediate stop at Altanca.

History

The Ritom Lake is in fact a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

, constructed in 1917 in order collect the waters of the

Saint-Gotthard Massif The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif (german: Gotthardmassiv or ; it, Massiccio del San Gottardo; rm, Massiv dal Gottard) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and G ...

for a power station at Piotta, in order to produce electricity for the

Gotthard railway The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between nort ...

. The funicular was originally constructed to facilitate the building of the pipeline carrying this water, which it parallels, but was opened for public use in 1921. The line was extensively rebuilt in 1977/8, and the original car was replaced by a new one in 1985. The original car, replaced in 1985, is displayed at the lower station. At its opening, and until the opening of the

Gelmerbahn funicular The Gelmer Funicular is a cable railway in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus at Handegg, in the Haslital (the valley of the upper Aar River), with an upper terminus at the Gelmersee lake. The Gelmerbahn was the steep ...

, the Ritom funicular was the steepest funicular in Switzerland.

Operation

The line has the following parameters:

References

External links

Web site of the Region Ritom-Piora with information on the funicular and surroundings

The Ritom funicular's entry on the Swiss Inventory of Ropeways
{{Coord, 46.517074, 8.67524, region:CH_type:landmark, display=title Funicular railways in Switzerland Metre gauge railways in Switzerland Transport in Ticino Railway lines opened in 1921

History

Operation

See also

References

External links