The Niesen Funicular is a funicular railway in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It links a lower terminus, in the village of

Mülenen Mülenen is a village in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district of the Swiss canton of Bern. The village is divided between the municipalities of Reichenbach im Kandertal and Aeschi bei Spiez. Mülenen station, on the Lötschberg ...

and adjacent to Mülenen station on the Lötschberg railway line, with an upper terminus at the summit of the

Niesen The Niesen is a mountain peak of the Bernese Alps in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. The summit of the mountain is in elevation. It overlooks Lake Thun, in the Bernese Oberland region, and forms the northern end of a ridge that stretches north ...

. The line is owned and operated by the Niesenbahn AG. Construction of the line commenced in 1906, and it opened in 1910. The service stairway for the Niesenbahn funicular is listed by

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the longest stairway, with 11,674 steps and a height of . The stairs are usually employee-only, but there is a public run called "Niesenlauf" once a year.

Operation

The line operates from late April to mid November, with cars operating every 30 minutes between 08:00 and 17:00. A 15-minute interval service is provided at busy periods, and evening services are operated on some days. The line comprises two sections, with an interchange station at Schwandegg, and has the following parameters: Niesen-Bahn-Ges

References

External links

*
Official website of the Niesenbahn funicular
{{Coord, 46.639356, 7.69021, type:railwaystation_region:CH, display=title Funicular railways in Switzerland Metre gauge railways in Switzerland Transport in the canton of Bern 1910 establishments in Switzerland