Day trip to Stoos & world's steepest funicular

Hi everyone,

I took a trip to Stoos yesterday and thought I'd post some pics about the trip.

I live in Zurich and the trip was just under 2 hours from Zurich main station to Stoos (train to Schwyz and bus to the Stoos funicular was the most direct option I found). Very easy. I found a Supersaver ticket for 15chf one-way. My friend who is notoriously late missed the train and had to buy a new ticket for one 30 minutes later. I did not wait for him and miss the train. I texted I would meet him in Stoos!

Stoos is a car-free village and is more like a small ski resort with permanent residents (about 100). We all agreed the village was beautiful and would like to return - had a great lunch at Sternegg Restaurant. If you aren't skiing there isn't much to do here except eat, so a day trip is perfect for most people. You will see the entire town in a 10 minute walk. :)

The main access point is the newly crowned world's steepest funicular. It felt more like an elevator honestly!

Note that due to the rotating barrels of the funicular you get no real view looking up the mountain (so look behind you and joy the view on the way up). I was in the first "barrel" going up and the 3rd barrel going down. Views were great no matter what. There are two tunnels which seemed like they are at the steepest points which was a shame but the views between the two tunnels are great.

Short video1

Short video2

Wonderful, Lucas - great photos. Thanks so much.

Thanks Lucas! A wonderful piece of engineering, really different from other funiculars indeed. And steep! It's great that it is now free for Swiss Travel Pass holders.

Hi Lucas and Arno,

An interesting backgrounder here www.theguardian.com/wo rld/2017/dec/15/world-steepest-funicular-rail-line-open-switzerland

Here is a reportage, including a video, about the Stoos Standseilbahn that was on SRF last month: www.srf.ch/news/region al/zentralschweiz/neue -standseilbahn-stoos-die-einweihung-ist-geglueckt

Also, there is a display at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne, or at least there was last time I visited it in 2016. standseilbahnen.ch/441 -stoos-standseilbahn-verkehrshaus.html

There are three tunnels, and between the second and third one, there is a section of double track to allow the funicular going up to pass the one going down. This is the half-way point. As Lucas has stated, the views are "great no matter what"; however the most unobstructed views looking down are from the last barrel. Having said this, the view looking up from the first barrel is also very nice once you are above the third tunnel. In the flatter sections of the trip (mostly the top part) the view from the middle barrels is not as great.

Yes, once you hit the flatter top section the front barrel rotates so you can see out the front finally! But then you are on the flatter section - not as exciting!

The station below (talstation) and the station up in Stoss (bergstation) are basically in a north to south orientation, so the most exhilarating views will clearly be from the last barrel looking north towards the valley. If you are a photographer, this also means you wont't have the sun in your lens. I use the word "clearly" as this will depend on the the meteorological conditions of the day. The upper and flatter section is of considerable length, so views northward from barrels one to three will not be as good as from the last barrel. The attached link shows the entirety of the ride up to the bergstation, recorded from the front barrel. Perhaps sometime soon these people or somebody else will post a video recorded from the last barrel. www.designboom.com/des ign/worlds-steepest-funicular-railway-stoos-switzerland-12-18-2017/

Hi Lucas

Thank you for this report. Stoos will be on this year's "to do" list. Am I right in thinking there is an alternative route as well? Just wondering if for sake of variety (since there are 3 tunnels on funicular) it might be a good idea to go up via new funicular (bearing in mind advice to go in rear barrel for better views and photo opportunities) and return via the other route? I know funicular is covered by STP - is the other route free or discounted?

Maggie

Yes you can also go up via the Morschach - Stoos cable car as well. It is covered on the Swiss Travel Pass as well - validity map. It doesn't move than many people per hour though (compared to the funicular) so be careful in the summer with line-ups!

For the geographers in the crowd, attached is an aerial photo (courtesy of Swiss Topo) showing the view with north at the top of the image, this taken when the "barrelbahn" was still under contruction. I have added yellow circles to show the location of the talstation and the bergstation, and blue ones to shown the two ends of the old Stoss funicular. The orange oval is the double tracked part of the barrelbahn that allow the two units to pass each other at the half-way point.

As for Maggie's question about the old Stoss Express, if we are to believe what a contributor to TouTube states in his/her video description, the old what I will refer to as the "woodsbahn" made its last run on December 17, 2017. Maybe somebody can check this. Here's the video: youtu.be/R-HngoAgjG8 The "woodsbahn' has two tunnels, with the double-tracked section just above the first one. Here is another video by the same person showing the descent of the woodsbahn: youtu.be/NZJU5Sophm4 It's too bad that the weather was not cooperating, but people have to be prepared for this; it's not always sunny !

Thanks Lucas

We will be there in 2nd half of September so hopefully not too busy!

Maggie

Hi Peterli

Wasn't referring to old funicular but the other route as explained by Lucas. The cable car route.

Maggie

Hi Maggie,

I was thinking that you would want to begin your ascent and end your descent with only a short walk between stations at the bottom. My mistake. But I am still happy to provide information to anybody who may be wondering about the two funiculars, i.e. the barrelbahn and the woodsbahn. I hope you have great weather when you are there.

I'm 90% sure the old funicular was replaced completely by the new one Peter. They couldn't/wouldn't keep repairing the older one.
I've done a quick search and can't find any mention of it anymore. I picked up a tourist brochure/map in Stoos and there is no mention of it either - just the new funicular and the Morschach cable car now.

Hi Maggie,

From Stoos you can also cableway over to Fronalpstock for this view flic.kr/p/d3CKDm

See also www.myswitzerland.com/ en-au/fronalpstock-by-aircraft-across-lake-lucerne.html

Not sure if that’s covered by STP.

The culinary speciality, Tartarenhut à discrétion, sounds intriguing. 😎

Hi Lucas,

Well, the commentary with those videos did say that the old funi's last run was December 17. So I guess that's it. Perhaps the Verkehrsmuseum in Lucerne will have more room for some of it.

Hi Rockoyster,

Good news ! You can buy a tatarenhut for a pretty decent price (CHF 119) at Otto's.ch. Otto's is more common in the German speaking part of Switzerland, but I have been to the ones in Morat and Düdingen, FR. www.ottos.ch/de/tatare nhut-no.html What you cook with a "tatar hat" is entirely up to you !

The following map shows where the Otto's outlets are located: www.ottos.ch/outlet/

Hi Peterli,

Thanks. My education continues. I have never seen such a thing.

Lucas,

Thanks so much for posting this and the great photos. I am thinking I might like to do this trip when I am there in late April (21) but am concerned I may be trying to do too much while only spending one day in Zurich and having just flown in early that morning. I was hoping to do the free walking tour from 11 to 12:30 p.m. and then hop the train from Zurich hb to Arth Goldau at 1:09 p.m. That would have me arriving in Schwyz at 2:00 p.m. How often do the buses run from this station to where you catch the funicular and how long is the bus trip. I was thinking if we could be in Stoos by no later than 3 and maybe spend an hour and a half there before heading back to try to catch the train back to Zurich from Schwyz which departs at 5:58 p.m. Do you think this is doable or just too rushed. It looks like Stoos is actually closer to Lucerne than Zurich and we are also heading there on April 22 but really wanted to explore the old town, and spend some time in Mt Rigi while incorporating a ferry ride on Lake Lucerne as well as a cable car ride up to Mt. Rigi so really would have no time in one day to include Stoos. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Linda,

The trip from Zurich was very easy. I had about a 7/8 minute wait for the bus in Schwyz and the trip was about 15/17 minutes to the funicular.

The Swiss railways timetable will give you the entire trip details. Just enter Zurich to Stoos and the times you are trying to do.

On April 21 there is a 12:35 departure and the next is 13:09. The arrival times would be: 14:18 or 14:48 (at the top of the funicular in Stoos).