100-year-old funicular resurrected to reach Swiss village cut off by landslip
The Local - [email protected]
Published: 10 Mar, 2017 CET.
Updated: Fri 10 Mar 2017 10:37 CET
Technicians are working to restart an old funicular put out of service in 1998 in order to provide an emergency link to the mountain village of Bristen, cut off since Sunday by a landslide.
The village in the canton of Uri has been inaccessible since a landslide on Sunday cut off the road.
According to the Luzerner Zeitung, the village of 450 people can only be reached on foot via a 25-minute journey on a steep path slippery due to recent rainfall.
Since Wednesday the Swiss army has been flying in essential supplies by helicopter, an emergency measure authorized by the Swiss government.
Now, the Uri authorities have decided to resurrect an old funicular linking Bristen to Amsteg.
#funicular Kraftwerk Amsteg reopened 6/3/2017 after collapse road #Amsteg #Bristen as in 2003 https://t.co/HmMFjymnQx #Uri #Switzerland pic.twitter.com/qS4YisLrwR
— Funimag (@funimag) March 6, 2017
The funicular will be a lifeline for people in the village in case of emergency. Provided it passes all the safety tests it will be put back in service next Wednesday and will operate until the damaged road can be repaired and opened.
Built in 1920 as a link to Amsteg power station, the funicular was closed in 1998. However it was briefly restarted in 2003 for three months when the village was cut off for a long period.
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The village in the canton of Uri has been inaccessible since a landslide on Sunday cut off the road.
According to the Luzerner Zeitung, the village of 450 people can only be reached on foot via a 25-minute journey on a steep path slippery due to recent rainfall.
Since Wednesday the Swiss army has been flying in essential supplies by helicopter, an emergency measure authorized by the Swiss government.
Now, the Uri authorities have decided to resurrect an old funicular linking Bristen to Amsteg.
#funicular Kraftwerk Amsteg reopened 6/3/2017 after collapse road #Amsteg #Bristen as in 2003 https://t.co/HmMFjymnQx #Uri #Switzerland pic.twitter.com/qS4YisLrwR
— Funimag (@funimag) March 6, 2017
The funicular will be a lifeline for people in the village in case of emergency. Provided it passes all the safety tests it will be put back in service next Wednesday and will operate until the damaged road can be repaired and opened.
Built in 1920 as a link to Amsteg power station, the funicular was closed in 1998. However it was briefly restarted in 2003 for three months when the village was cut off for a long period.
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