Riding the Funiculaire de Montmartre, Paris

Описание: The Montmartre Funicular serves the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, France, in the 18th arrondissement. It is operated by the RATP, the Paris transport authority. It was opened in 1900, and was entirely rebuilt in 1935 and again in 1991.

It carries passengers between the foot of the butte of Montmartre and its summit, near the foot of the Sacré-Cœur basilica, providing an alternative to the multiple stairways of more than 300 steps that lead to the top of the Butte Montmartre. The 354 ft funicular climbs 118 ft in under a minute and a half. It carries two million passengers a year.

Despite its name, in its modern state the Montmartre Funicular is technically a double inclined elevator.

The funicular is open every day from 6 am until 12.45 am, transporting 6,000 people a day, or around 2 million a year, mostly tourists and pilgrims en route to the Sacré-Cœur, and also Parisians and those who love the ambience of the Place du Tertre.

The lower station was built between the Place Saint-Pierre and the Place Suzanne-Valadon, and the upper one on the Rue du Cardinal-Dubois. The funicular runs alongside the Rue Foyatier, a wide 220-step staircase.

The Paris city government voted to construct the Montmartre funicular in 1891. Initially, operation of the funicular was subcontracted to Decauville through a concession that ended in 1931. Thereafter, the Société des transports en commun de la région parisienne took control, and this was nationalized together with the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (CMP) to form the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP), which continues to operate the funicular today.

The original funicular was water-powered, using a system of cisterns of 180 cu ft each that were filled or emptied to move the cars and to compensate for passenger load. In 1935, the system was converted to electricity. The funicular was completely rebuilt by the RATP in 1990–1991.

The funicular was shut down after a minor accident during tests by the RATP in December 2006. It reopened in July 2007.