What if the entire journey on a rollercoaster consisted solely of the part where you’re slowly inching your way to a peak, holding your breath, waiting for the drop and speed that never comes? As a passenger on the world’s steepest funicular, located in Switzerland, you aren’t exactly in for a dramatic and adventurous ride; your viewpoint of the surroundings will remain perfectly perpendicular thanks to the rotating cylindrical passenger carriages, and it never goes particularly fast. But nevertheless, the Stoos Bahn Tram is an experience to remember, showing off the mountain scenery from unprecedented heights.
Traveling from Schywz to the mountains village of Stoos, which is set 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) above sea level in central Switzerland, the Stoos Bahn Tram follows the peaks and valleys, making its length look a whole lot like a white-knuckle attraction at an amusement park. But it traverses its 1,738 meter length (just over a mile) at speeds of 22 miles per hour, gently bobbing up and down as its passengers remain upright, no matter how steep the sections become.
And they do get steep. The journey reaches inclines of 110 percent, smashing a previous world record for the steepest funicular belonging to the Gelmergahn in Bern, Switzerland, which reached 106 percent. It took 14 years and $52.6 million to complete the project, which was officially launched in mid-December 2017.
