Switzerland funicular: World's steepest railway opens Published duration 17 December 2017

media caption The floors adjust to the slope as the funicular climbs

The world's steepest funicular railway has opened to the public in Switzerland.

The floors tilt, adjusting to the slope as the funicular climbs at a gradient of 110% at its steepest point.

The railway runs from the town of Schwyz up 110m (328ft) to the car-free Alpine village of Stoos.

The Stoos Bahn took 14 years to build - two years longer than scheduled - at a cost of 52m Swiss francs (£40m; $53m).

But Ivan Steiner, spokesman for the railway, said the project's completion had made everyone "very proud".

In mountainous Switzerland, where children regularly use cable cars to get to school, the line will connect communities as well as provide a new tourist attraction, reports the BBC's Imogen Foulkes.

Should potential passengers feel fainthearted, they can be reassured that the journey lasts just four minutes.

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