Standseilbahn Dresden
Encyclopedia
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
connecting the districts of Loschwitz
Loschwitz
Loschwitz is a borough of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters :Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes north of the Elbe river...
, near the "Blue Wonder
Blue Wonder
Blue "Erik Burbulla" Wonder is the commonly used name for the Loschwitz Bridge , a cantilever truss bridge over the Elbe river in the Saxon capital of Dresden, Germany. It connects the city districts of Blasewitz and Loschwitz, two affluent residential areas, which around 1900 were amongst the...
" bridge, and Weisser Hirsch. The railway was opened on October 26, 1895, and was run by a steam engine until 1910; since then it has run on electricity.
The line has the following technical parameters:
- Length: 547 metres (1,794.6 ft)
- Height: 94 metres (308.4 ft)
- Maximum Steepness: 29%
- Cars: 2
- Capacity: 60 passengers per car
- Configuration: Single track with passing loop
- Maximum speed: 5 m/s
- Track gauge: 1 metres (3.3 ft)
- Journey time: 5 minutes
- Traction: Electricity
The line runs through two tunnels; the Burgberg Tunnel, which is 96 metres long, and the Prinzess Louisa Tunnel with a length of 54 metres.
The railway is one of two city railways in Dresden, the other being the unusual Schwebebahn Dresden
Schwebebahn Dresden
The Schwebebahn Dresden is one of the oldest suspension railways — a kind of hanging monorail — in the world, having opened in 1901. It is situated in Dresden, Germany, and connects the districts of Loschwitz and Oberloschwitz . The line is 274 metres long and is supported on...
, a suspended monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
. Both lines are operated by the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG, who also operate the city's tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
networks.