The Niesenbahn 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 ends ...

above

Lake Thun Lake Thun () is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created after the last gl ...

in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

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 ...

. 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 ra ...

at and adjacent to Mülenen station on the

Lötschberg railway line The Lötschberg is an Alpine mountain massif, usually associated with a major, historically important transit axis of the Alps in Switzerland with, at its core, the Lötschen Pass (, Swiss German: ''Lötschepass''). The mountain pass, which culmi ...

, with an upper terminus at near the summit of

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 ...

, a viewpoint above the lake and

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

. The funicular is divided into two portions with a total length of , an elevation difference of , and a maximum slope of 68%. 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 British reference book published annually, listi ...

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. The line is owned and operated by the ''Niesenbahn AG''.

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 NiesenbahnVideo of a round trip from the driver's point of view
{{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

Operation

Further reading

References

External links