The Flying Dutchman Funicular, also known as the Cape Point Funicular, is a funicular railway located at Cape Point

Cape Point

Cape Point is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in the Republic of South Africa. Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town...

, near the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

 in the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 province of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It is believed to be the only commercial funicular of its type in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and takes its name from the local legend of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship.

The line runs from a lower station at the Cape Point car park, up an incline through dense fynbos

Fynbos

Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...

to the upper lighthouse. The line was constructed to replace the Flying Dutchman bus, which was no longer adequate for transporting the increasing number of visitors, and which last ran in 1996. The line follows the line of the road previously used by the bus.

The line has the following technical parameters:

• Length: 585 metres
• Height: 87 metres
• Maximum Steepness: 16%
• Cars: 2
• Capacity: 40 passengers per car; 450 persons per hour
• Configuration: Single track with passing loop
• Travel time: 3 minutes
• Traction: Electricity