Montmartre Funicular
The Montmartre Funicular (French: Funiculaire de Montmartre) is an inclined transport system serving the Montmartre neighbourhood of Paris, France, in the 18th arrondissement. Operated by the RATP, the Paris transport authority, the system opened in 1900; it was entirely rebuilt in 1935 and again in 1991.
| Montmartre Funicular | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Stations | 2 |
| Service | |
| Operator(s) | RATP |
| Rolling stock | 2 cabins |
| Ridership | 2 million journeys per year |
| History | |
| Opened | 13 July 1900 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 0.108 km (0.067 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
The system is a funicular in name only. Its formal title, the Montmartre Funicular, is a vestige of its earlier configuration, where its cars operated in a counterbalanced, interconnected pair, always moving in opposite directions in concert, thus meeting the definition of a funicular. The system now uses two independently operating cars that can each ascend or descend on demand, qualifying as a double inclined elevator, retaining the term funicular in its title as a historical reference.
The system carries passengers between the base of Montmartre and its summit, accessing the nearby Sacré-Cœur basilica and paralleling the adjacent staircases of Rue Foyatier. The 108 m (354 ft) cars climbs 36 m (118 ft) in under a minute and a half and carry two million passengers a year.