Funival, Mountain funicular railway in Val-d'Isère, France
The Funival is a funicular railway that links La Daille station to Bellevarde summit, using a combination of an elevated viaduct section and a long tunnel beneath the mountain. This system allows it to climb a steep slope and move travelers efficiently from lower elevations to higher ones.
The railway opened in the late 1980s as an engineering innovation designed specifically for alpine terrain. Its arrival marked a shift in how the ski area could accommodate growing visitor numbers.
The funicular serves as the main link between the valley floor and the ski slopes above, making winter sports accessible to thousands of visitors each season. It has become a defining feature of how people move through this mountain landscape.
The railway operates continuously between the lower and upper stations with short intervals between departures. Visiting in early morning hours typically means shorter waits and a more comfortable ride.
What makes this railway special is an unusual system that allows two trains to travel on the same track at once, even though it has only a single rail line. This two-train operation method is rarely used elsewhere and makes the engineering here noteworthy.
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