Ligerz-Tessenberg-Bahn
Vinifuni Ligerz–Prêles
Funicular at Lake Biel, Switzerland
Vinifuni Ligerz–Prêles is a funicular above Lake Biel in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. The line leads from Ligerz/Gléresse at 437 m to Prêles at 820 m on Tessenberg, a plateau part of the Jura range.[2] The line has a length of 1198 m with a difference of elevation of 383 m and a maximum incline of 40%.[2] The single track funicular has had only one car since 2004,[2] when the passing loop and the second car were removed. Two intermediate stations are Pilgerweg at 487 m and Festi/Château at 577 m. The lower station is next to Ligerz railway station and a landing stage for Lake Biel passenger ships.
The line opened in 1910[2] after the Swiss Federal Assembly granted a concession in 1906.[3]
The funicular is owned and operated by Aare Seeland mobil AG since 2003.[2] The railway company had absorbed Ligerz-Tessenberg-Bahn AG (LTB),[note 1] founded in 1910 and initially named Chemin de fer funiculaire Gléresse-Montagne de Diesse.
- lower station (2017)
- former funicular car on bridge (2003)
- car in the vineyards (2005)