Kyiv Funicular, Funicular railway in central Kyiv, Ukraine

The Kyiv Funicular runs 222 m up the slope of Volodymyrska Hill between the Upper Town and Podil, with a 75 m height difference and a gradient of 18–20°. Its two cars, each holding 100 passengers (30 seated), travel at 2 m/s and meet at a passing loop. The light-blue car in the photo carries a white Roman numeral II on its front band.

Construction ran from 1903 to spring 1905, funded with 230,000 rubles by the Belgian joint-stock company that owned Kyiv's trams. Engineer Artur Abrahamson promoted the project; N. K. Pyatnitsky and N. I. Baryshnikov designed it. The line opened as the Mykhailivskyi mechanical lift on 7 (20) May 1905, with passenger service starting the next day. In 1928 a cable replacement accident destroyed both cars, and the 1929 rebuild extended the track about 40 m to Postova Square.

The name comes from the nearby St. Michael's Cathedral, which gave the line its original title. Locals today use the connection as a quick way to move between the upper and lower parts of the city.

The ride works well during wet or hot weather, as the cars are enclosed. Boarding happens at ground level at both endpoints.

The car in the photograph carries a white Roman numeral "II" on its dark blue band, not a Cyrillic letter. The two cars run on a single track with a passing loop midway, where they slide past each other.