Gütschbahn funicular, Funicular railway in Lucerne, Switzerland

The Gütschbahn is a funicular in Lucerne running from Baselstrasse, about 1 km west of the city centre, to a station next to Château Gütsch, 90 m above. Since 2015 it has operated as two independent inclined lifts on parallel tracks, each cabin carrying 8 people and taking 1.5 minutes.

The water-powered Gütschbahn opened on 22 August 1884, built by Johann Eduard Näf-Meier to link Lucerne with the Château Gütsch hotel. It ran seasonally at first, was extended in 1897, and switched to electric operation in 1961. Landslides halted service from 1943 to 1948 and again from 1974 to 1975. After bankruptcy and a final run on 21 April 2008, it was rebuilt and reopened on 26 September 2015 as an inclined lift.

The line's name comes from the Gütsch, the wooded hill above Lucerne where the Château Gütsch hotel, built by architect Emil Vogt on the model of Neuschwanstein, opened in 1888. The funicular also serves the Gütschwald recreation area, with forest paths, picnic and barbecue spots, the Gütschhütte hut and a pond.

Passengers can use bus tickets or day passes to ride, making it easy to plan a trip. The journey takes just a few minutes, and it's best to travel during quieter times to avoid crowded cabins.

The 2015 rebuild replaced the original water-ballast funicular with two independent inclined lifts by Inauen-Schätti of Dallenwil. Each cabin holds 8 people, the two run on parallel tracks, and the trip takes about one and a half minutes. The line sits in the Lucerne fare network's zone 10 because it also serves the Gütschwald recreation area.