Budapest Castle Hill Funicular, Funicular in Budapest District I, Hungary
Budapest Castle Hill Funicular is a cable railway in Budapest District I that travels 95 meters uphill, carrying visitors from river level to the castle complex. The route connects the lower station near the Chain Bridge with the upper station positioned between the Royal Palace and Sandor Palace.
Built on the initiative of Count Ödön Széchenyi after a funicular he saw in Lyon, the line opened on 2 March 1870, the second of its kind in Europe. Its cars and terminals were destroyed by bombs in the Second World War, and the remains were dismantled in 1948–49. Reconstruction began in March 1985 and the funicular reopened on 4 June 1986.
The two cars carry the names Gellért and Margit, and the northern car on the Alagút side is BS1 "Margit" while the southern car is BS2 "Gellért". The chassis of today's vehicles were built from old BHÉV parts, and the bearing covers still bear inscriptions testifying to this.
The line runs daily from 8:00 to 22:00, with maintenance on Mondays of every odd week, when service resumes around 15:00 in winter and around 9:00 in busier periods. The ride itself takes about 1 minute 30 seconds. The line also closes for roughly five days in spring and autumn for scheduled works.
The two cars carry the names and track numbers BS1 "Margit" (north track, Alagút side) and BS2 "Gellért" (south side). Their underframes were built from old BHÉV suburban-railway parts, and the bearing covers still bear inscriptions testifying to this. The line's gradient is 31.75 degrees (62%), not 40.
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