View source for Funiculars of Lyon

{{Expand French|Funiculaire de Lyon|date=March 2019|topic=transport}}
{{citations|date=December 2014}}
{{Lyon transport|picture=no}}
The '''Funiculars of Lyon''' ('''Funiculaires de Lyon''') is a network of [[funicular]] railways in [[Lyon]], [[France]]. Of the five lines once in existence, only the two routes on the Fourvière hill remain in operation, with the rest of the network now either closed, converted to road vehicle use, or integrated within the [[Lyon Metro|Lyon underground]] system.

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2019}}
[[Image:Ficelle de Lyon 01.jpg|thumb|250px|A funicular of Lyon entering Saint Jean station.]]
No fewer than five funicular lines, nicknamed ''ficelles'' ("threads") were built.
*The first line opened in 1862 and linked Rue Terme and [[Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse]]. The funicular was closed and converted to a road tunnel in 1968.
*The second line opened in 1891 and served the Butte de la Croix Rousse. The line was converted into a [[rack railway]] in 1972 and rebuilt and extended at both ends to become [[Lyon Metro Line C|Line C]] of the [[Lyon Metro]] in 1978.
*The third line opened in 1878 linking Saint-Jean to Saint-Just with an intermediate station at Minimes, climbing the [[Fourvière]] hill. The line was converted to a [[rack railway]] in 1901 and  back to a funicular in 1958.
*The fourth and fifth lines were opened in 1900, linking the Tour Metallique on Fourvière hill to [[Gare de Lyon-Saint-Paul|Saint-Paul]] and the Basilica on Fourvière with Saint-Jean. The first was closed in 1937 and the second was modernised in 1970 with a change of gauge from {{RailGauge|1000mm}} to {{RailGauge|1300mm}}. The Fourvière - Saint-Jean line is {{convert|431|m}} long with a 30% [[Grade (slope)|incline]].

Both lines still in service were modernised again in 1986 and 1987. The Fourvière funicular was refurbished at the start of 2018, and the St Just funicular at the start of 2019. A new station at Saint-Jean was built in 1991 to serve the new line {{R-I|lyon|D}} of the Metro and both funicular lines, and the whole complex named [[Vieux Lyon|Vieux-Lyon]].

According to the definition of a rapid transit system given by French dictionaries{{snd}}"electric traction railway, partially or totally underground, serving a large urban area"{{snd}}Lyon can claim to have one of the world's first rapid transit lines, as the Terme funicular, which meets these characteristics, was opened in 1862, six months before the first section of the [[Metropolitan Railway]] in [[London]].

==Current lines==

===Route map===
[[Image:Funiculaires de Lyon - plan.png|200px|right]]

===F1 (Saint-Jean - Saint-Just)===
[[Image:Funiculaire Saint-Just - Vieux Lyon.JPG|right|thumb|Funicular 1 of Lyon at ''Vieux-Lyon - Cathédrale Saint-Jean'' station.]]
{| width="400" class="wikitable"
|-
|'''Saint-Jean - Saint-Just'''
|{{RailGauge|1000mm|allk=on}}
|-
|Length
|{{convert|791|m}}
|-
|Height
|{{convert|91.2|m}}
|-
|Number of stops
|3
|-
|Fleet
|2 funicular cars
|-
|Capacity
|216 passengers
|-
|Length of journey
|3 minutes 20 seconds
|-
|Opening times
|05:00 to 24:00
|-
|Frequency of services
|5 to 10 minutes
|}

===F2 (Saint-Jean - Fourvière)===
[[Image:Funiculaire Fourvière Von Roll n°2 TCL Vieux Lyon-Cathédrale Saint-Jean.jpg|right|thumb|Funicular F2 at ''Vieux-Lyon - Cathédrale Saint-Jean'' station.]]
{| width="400" class="wikitable"
|-
|'''Saint-Jean - Fourvière'''
|{{RailGauge|1300 mm}}
|-
|Length
|{{convert|404|m}}
|-
|Height
|{{convert|116|m}}
|-
|Number of stops
|2
|-
|Fleet
|2 funicular cars
|-
|Capacity
|70 passengers
|-
|Length of journey
|2 minutes
|-
|Opening times
|06:00 to 22:00
|-
|Frequency of services
|5 to 10 minutes
|}

==Late 2010s refurbishment==
From January to June 2018, the Fourvière funicular was refurbished. This refurbishment included a revised livery, brighter and more open carriages, the carriages had a wheelchair space created, and new [[Alternating current|AC]] motors installed to replace the old [[Direct current|DC]] motors.

From December 2018 to June 2019, St Just’s Funicular was closed for refurbishment. It received a new livery, similar to the livery on the upcoming MPL16s. It also received a new interior which is brighter and more spacious.

==Funicular cars in preservation==
Funicular car n°1 is preserved at the [[AMTUIR]] ([[:fr:Musée des transports urbains, interurbains et ruraux|fr]]). It operated on the single track line from Saint-Jean to the Basilique de Fourvière. The line it served on was modernised in 1970 and equipped with new cars.

The car was given to the AMTUIR (Musée des Transports Urbains) by the Transports en Commun de la Région Lyonnaise (TCRL) on 27 May 1970.

{| width="400" class="wikitable"
|-
|'''Tramcar n°11 data'''
|
|-
|Length
|{{convert|8.62|m|ftin}}
|-
|Width
|{{convert|2.10|m|ftin}}
|-
|Height
|{{convert|3.60|m|ftin}}
|-
|Gross weight
|{{convert|6.2|t|LT ST|1|abbr=on}}
|-
|Capacity
|12/44
|-
|Current
|By pantograph for lighting only.
|-
|Gauge
|{{RailGauge|1000mm|allk=on}}
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of funicular railways]]

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060705204115/http://www.tcl.fr/site/00_plans_reseau/pdf/lyon_villeurbanne.pdf Plan of Lyon metro and funiculars]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071220204834/http://www.mediathequepartdieu.fr/ Picture library of transport in Lyon]
*[http://www.tcl.fr/var/tcl/storage/original/application/d2bdef5683b1fd248203218f3662f75d.pdf A pdf file about the Funicular Refurbishment (2018)]

{{5th arrondissement of Lyon}}
{{France Metro Tramway}}

{{coord missing|France}}

[[Category:5th arrondissement of Lyon]]
[[Category:Tram transport in France|Lyon]]
[[Category:Funicular railways in France|Lyon]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Lyon]]
[[Category:Metre-gauge railways in France]]
[[Category:1300 mm gauge railways in France]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in France]]