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Funiculaire Sierre-Montana-Crans

Venthône, Italy

Funiculaire Sierre-Montana-Crans

Funiculaire Sierre–Montana–Crans (abbreviated SMC) is a funicular railway in Valais, Switzerland. The line leads from Sierre at 540 m (1,770 ft) to Crans-Montana at 1,471 m (4,826 ft). The funicular has a single section of about 4.3 km (2.7 mi) since 1997, making it the longest in the world. Earlier

, it had two sections with the break at St-Maurice-de-Laques. The funicular with two cars has a single track with a passing loop. The lower station is located near the Sierre/Siders railway station on the Simplon line. Intermediate stations are at Venthône and Bluche-Randogne. The funicular was opened in 1911. The line is operated at present by "Compagnie de Chemin de Fer et d’Autobus Sierre-Montana-Crans (SMC) SA". The funicular was closed from March to December 2022 for new tracks and cars, fewer intermediate stations to allow 20-minute intervals and a journey time of 14 minutes. Concurrently, the power system for the line was redesigned to use solar power to reduce its reliance on grid-provided electricity and for emergency backup power. The system also harvests power regeneratively from the vehicles.

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