The Montmartre Funicular () 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.
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ascend or descend on demand, qualifying as a double inclined elevator, retaining the term funicular in its title as a historical reference.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 cars climbs in under a minute and a half and carry two million passengers a year.
Current design
Constructed by the Schindler Group, the system with electrical traction entered service on 1 June 1991. It has two cabins with sixty places each which travel on two separate, parallel tracks using the international standard gauge of . It has a capacity of passengers per hour in each direction. A trip in either direction, which covers a vertical distance of over a track distance of , takes less than 90 seconds and climbs or descends a gradient as high as 35.2% (a little steeper than 1:3).
The technology of the Montmartre line differs from a funicular in that it uses independently operating cars more related to standard up-down elevators, each equipped with its own counterweight. Again, a funicular's cars are by definition arranged in counterbalanced, interconnected pairs, moving in concert. The Montmartre system now allows each car to function independently, with its own hoist and cables. Advantages of this arrangement include the ability of one car to remain in service during maintenance of the other. Also, both cabins can ascend simultaneously (usually, more passengers use the system to ascend than to descend), where cars of a funicular always travel in opposite directions.
The see-through stations were designed by architect François Deslaugiers and the cabins were designed by Roger Tallon, who also designed the carriages of the TGV Atlantique. The cabin roofs are partly glazed, allowing a view during transit.
The system operates daily from 6 am until 12.45 am, transporting people a day, or around 2 million annually.
The lower station (Gare Basse) is located between the and the , and the upper one (Gare Haute) on the .
History
The Paris city government voted to construct the Montmartre transport system in 1891. Initially, operation was subcontracted to Decauville through a concession that ended in 1931. Thereafter, the Société des transports en commun de la région parisienne (STCRP) took control, and this was nationalized together with the (CMP) to form the (RATP), which continues to operate the funicular today.
The original system in contrast to the current system was, in fact, a funicular with twin counterbalanced and interconnected cars. In the case of the Montmartre design, a system of onboard water bladders of could be filled or emptied to move the cars and to compensate for passenger load. In 1935, the system was converted to electricity. The system was completely rebuilt by the RATP in 1990–1991, as dual independently operating inclined elevators.
The system was shut down after a minor accident during tests by the RATP in December 2006. It reopened in July 2007.
Chronology
5 June 1891: Decision to create a funicular at Montmartre
12 or 13 July 1900: Inauguration of the first water-driven funicular
1 November 1931: Closure of the water-driven funicular
2 February 1935: Opening of the electric funicular
1 October 1990: Closure of the funicular for the second renovation
5 October 1991: Opening of the modern inclined elevator, retaining the name funicular 7 December 2006: Accident during a brake load test, without passengers
Origins
Construction of the Montmartre transport system was authorized by the Paris municipal council in 1891. It was built to serve the Sacré-Cœur Basilica at the summit of the outlier of Montmartre and was inaugurated on 5 June 1891. Original plans specified electrical traction and six stations between two termini. As built, the system used only two terminal stations and water-filled bladders as counterweights for motion.