Kiev funicular

thumb|225px|A_vintage_view_of_the_old_Kiev_funicular,_seen_with_its_original_wooden_Swiss-made wagons (early 1910's).

The Kiev funicular ( _uk. Київський фунікулер, translit.: "Kyivs’kyi funikuler"; _ru. Киевский фуникулёр, translit.: "Kievskiy funikulyor") serves the city of Kiev, connecting the historic "Uppertown", and the lower commercial neighborhood of Podil through the steep hill overseeing the Dnieper River.

History

The funicular was constructed during 1902-1905, and was first opened to the public on 7 May, 1905. The construction cost, about 230,000 Russian rubles, was covered by a Belgian owner of the Kiev trams. The funicular was the project of Arthur Abrahamson, who received professional training on railroad engineering in Zürich, Switzerland and Saint Petersburg, Russia. The station vestibules were designed by N. Piatnitskiy, and the railway structure was designed N. Barishnikov.

Due to its nearness to the St. Michael's Cathedral, it was once named the "Mikhailivs’kyi Mechanichnyi Pidyom" ( _uk. Михайлівський механічний підйом, literally "St. Michael's Mechanical Lift"). After the cathedral was destroyed by the Soviet authorities in 1935-1936, the name of the funicular was changed.

Various Facts

The funicular uses the two rail and passing-loop system. The two cars are designated with the Cyrillic letters "Λ" and "П" which stand for "left" and "right". The funicular was renovated three times: in 1928, 1958, and 1984.

Wheel width: 100 cm. Total track length: 238 meters. The total gradient of the slope on which the funicular runs on is 36 %. The cable cars are powered by an electric motor which is located inside the upper station.

The travel time between the stations is approximately 3 minutes. The route is from the Mykhailivska Square in the Uptown to the Poshtova Square in the Podil. The ticket price is the much like the other city-owned public transportation methods, 50 kopecks. The funicular provides daily service to 10,000-15,000 passengers, and annually to 2.8 million passengers. [cite web|url=http://wek.kiev.ua/wiki/index.php/Фунікулер |title=Funicular |accessdate= |accessmonthday=February 26 |accessyear=2006 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work=Wiki-Encyclopedia Kyiv |publisher= |pages= |language=Ukrainian |archiveurl= |archivedate=]

The funicular was closed on September 25, 2006 for restoration, which is usually conducted every year. [cite web|url=http://www.pk.kiev.ua/city/2006/09/22/184415.html |title=Kiev's funicular will be closed for reconstruction |accessdate= |accessmonthday=September 22 |accessyear=2006 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work=Gazeta po-Kievsky |publisher= |pages= |language=Russian |archiveurl= |archivedate=] The total cost of the restoration was expected to be 455,400 hryvnias ("about 90,500 US dollars").

Mykhaylo Brodskyy, a Ukrainian politician, claims that when he was young, he participated in the construction of the funicular. [Chernaya, Olga. Mikhail Brodskiy: «Me in the Kiev Rada - An outsider» in "Zerkalo Nedeli", April 8-14, 2006. Available in [http://www.zerkalo-nedeli.com/ie/show/592/53096/ Russian] and [http://www.zn.kiev.ua/nn/show/592/53096/ Ukrainian] ]

References

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External links

* [http://www.home.ru/funiculars/kieve.html home.ru] - Kiev funicular
* [http://wek.kiev.ua/wiki/index.php/Фунікулер Київський фунікулер] in [http://wek.kiev.ua/ "Wiki-Encyclopedia Kyiv"] uk icon
* [http://kiev.webteka.com/_transport/funic.htm kiev.webteka.com] - Kiev funicular ru icon