funicular railway

noun

1. a short, very steep railway having two parallel sets of tracks, upon each of which runs a car or train raised or lowered by means of a cable that simultaneously lowers or raises the other car or train in such a way that the two are approximately counterbalanced.

Word History and Origins

Origin of funicular railway¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The iconic funicular railway has announced that fares will increase from $1.00 to $1.50 starting June 1 to keep pace with the rising cost of insurance, maintenance and labor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In November 2000, a cable car on a funicular railway caught fire in a mountain tunnel in Kaprun, Austria, killing 155 people.

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The project, next to the historic Angels Flight funicular railway, is in De León’s district, and it may not receive the go-ahead from City Hall without his support.

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Two cars operate on the funicular railway, each with a capacity of 40 passengers.

Read more on BBC

The park - home to a zoo, several hiking trails and a funicular railway - launched anti-litter campaigns last year urging drink vendors to switch from plastic to glass cups, and started classifying garbage into separate bins.

Read more on Reuters