The Reichenbachfall Funicular (; RfB) is a

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

in the

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 ...

region of 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 Willigen, near

Meiringen Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...

, with the uppermost of the

Reichenbach Falls Reichenbach Falls () is a waterfall in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, which drop a height of . At , the upper Grand Reichenbach Fall () is one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of ...

, famous as the site of the apparent death of

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's fictional hero,

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

. On its route the line follows and crosses the lower falls of the Reichenbach.Richard Green (2007). ''Railways in the Berner Oberland - Part 3''. ''Today's Railways Europe: Issue 134: February 2007''. Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. The funicular was opened in 1899, and was rebuilt in 1999 to the original design. Between 1912 and 1956, it was linked to Meiringen by the

Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht tramway The Meiringen–Reichenbach–Aareschlucht tramway (, MRA) was a metre gauge electric tramway in the Swiss canton of Bern. It linked the town of Meiringen with the tourist attractions of the Reichenbach Falls, where it served the lower station o ...

. Today it is owned by the EWR Energie company, which operates the adjacent

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power plant, but is maintained by the neighbouring

Kraftwerke Oberhasli ''Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG'' (KWO) is a Swiss energy supply company, based in Innertkirchen (BE) and operating several hydroelectric plants in the Oberhasli area of the canton of Bern. It also operates a number of tourist attractions in the same a ...

company, which also operates several other lines in the area. It has the following parameters: The funicular operates only between May and mid-October. During this period it operates every 15 minutes from 09:00 to 17:00. The lower station is some 20 minutes walk, or a 6-minute bus ride, from Meiringen station on the

Brünig railway line The Brünig steam railway line () is a Switzerland, Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes over ...

. It is 500 m from the Alpbach station.

Gallery

File:The bottom station of the Reichenbachfall-Bahn.jpg, Car in lower station File:110807 Reichenbachfall-Bahn.JPG, At the passing loop File:Looking down on the Reichenbachfall-Bahn.jpg, Looking down on the upper station File:Ans 05092-090.jpg, The line's longest bridge,

References

External links

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Reichenbachfall Bahn page from FunimagReichenbachfall-Bahn page on Grimselwelt web site
Funicular railways in Switzerland Bernese Oberland Oberhasli Metre-gauge railways in Switzerland Transport in the canton of Bern Railway lines opened in 1899 1899 establishments in Switzerland Heritage railways in Switzerland {{Europe-rail-transport-stub