History
No less than five funicular lines, nicknamed ficelles ("threads") were built.
- The first line opened in 1862 and linked Rue Terme and Boulevard de la Croix Rousse. The funicular was closed and converted to a road tunnel in 1968.
- The second line opened in 1891 and served the Butte de la Croix Rousse. The line was converted into a rack railway in 1972 and rebuilt and extended at both ends to become Line C of the Lyon Metro in 1978.
- The third line opened in 1878 linking Saint-Jean to Saint-Just with an intermediate station at Minimes, climbing the Fourvière hill. The line was converted to a rack railway in 1901 and back to a funicular in 1958.
- The fourth and fifth lines were opened in 1900, linking the Tour Metallique on Fourvière hill to Saint-Paul and the Basilica on Fourvière with Saint-Jean. The first was closed in 1937 and the second was modernised in 1970 with a change of gauge from 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) to 1,300 millimetres (4 ft 3 in). The Fourvière - Saint-Jean line is 431 metres (1,414 ft) long with a 30% incline.
Both lines still in service were modernised again in 1986 and 1987. A new station at Saint-Jean was built in 1991 to serve the new Line D of the Metro and both funicular lines, and the whole complex named Vieux-Lyon.
Read more about this topic: Funiculars Of Lyon
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