Funicular de Gelida

Historia

The Gelida Funicular is a funicular railway in the municipality of Gelida in Catalonia, Spain. The line connects Gelida station, on the RENFE, with the centre of the village of Gelida, which is at a higher level. The line was opened in 1924 and modernised in 1984, whilst retaining a heritage ambience.The funicular has the following technical parameters:Length: 884mHeight: 110mMaximum Steepness: 22.2 %Cars: 2Capacity: 50 passengers per car; 700 passengers per hourConfiguration: Single track with passing loopMaximum speed: 2.5m/sTravel time: 8 minutesTrack gauge: ''Traction: Electricity Although two cars were in operation, as an economy measure only one was normally staffed and carried passengers, whilst the other simply served as a counterweight. Despite this restriction, the funicular was timed to connect with the main line trains, which operate every half-hour on weekdays and hourly on weekends. Besides the two terminals at Gelida Inferior and Superior, the line served an intermediate request stop at Gelida-Baixador'', situated between the passing loop and upper station. On September 2011, the service was suspended due to government's spending cuts, as it was considered too expensive to maintain. Since then the service has been replaced by a shuttle bus, with the funicular operating only at weekends. Since March 2016 service has been suspended due to a breakdown, no reparations have been announced so far and the future is unclear.