Funiculaire Sierre–Montana–Crans

Funiculaire Sierre-Montana-Crans
passing loop (2007)
Overview
Other names	Funiculaire SMC; Sierre-Montana-Crans; Sierre-Montana-Vermala; Funiculaire de Sierre à Montana-Vermala
Status	In operation
Owner	Compagnie de Chemin de Fer et d'Autobus Sierre-Montana-Crans, (SMC) SA
Locale	Valais, Switzerland
Termini	"Sierre/Siders (funi)" at Rue du Pradec 2 "Montana Gare" at Avenue de la Gare 28
Connecting lines	Simplon line
Stations	4 (8 before 2022)
Website	cie-smc
Service
Type	Funicular (before 1997: with 2 sections)
Route number	2225
Operator(s)	SMC
Rolling stock	2
History
Opened	28 September 1911 (114 years ago) (1911-09-28)
Single section	16 December 1997 (1997-12-16)
New tracks	11 December 2022 (2022-12-11)
Technical
Number of tracks	1 with passing loop
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)[1]
Electrification	from opening
Highest elevation	1,471 m (4,826 ft)
Route map Legend (old) alt. (m) Montana, station 1466 Marigny 1420 Bluche-Randogne 1263 St-Maurice-de-Laques 1074 Darnona 894 Venthône 817 Muraz tunnel de Muraz (78 m) tunnel de Pradegg (73 m) Sierre SMC 539

Funiculaire Sierre–Montana–Crans (abbreviated SMC) is a funicular railway in Valais, Switzerland. The line leads from Sierre at 540 m (1,770 ft) to Crans-Montana at 1,471 m (4,826 ft). The funicular has a single section of about 4.3 km (2.7 mi) since 1997, making it the longest in the world.^[2] Earlier, it had two sections with the break at St-Maurice-de-Laques. The funicular with two cars has a single track with a passing loop.

The lower station is located near the Sierre/Siders railway station on the Simplon line. Intermediate stations are at Venthône and Bluche-Randogne.

The funicular was opened in 1911.^[3][4] The line is operated at present by "Compagnie de Chemin de Fer et d’Autobus Sierre-Montana-Crans (SMC) SA".^[3]

The funicular was closed from March to December 2022 for new tracks and cars, fewer intermediate stations to allow 20-minute intervals^[5][6] and a journey time of 14 minutes.^[7] Concurrently, the power system for the line was redesigned to use solar power to reduce its reliance on grid-provided electricity and for emergency backup power. The system also harvests power regeneratively from the vehicles.^[5][8]

Further reading

• Zehnder-Spörry, Roland; Laplace-Delapraz, M. (1915a), "Le chemin de fer funiculaire Sierre-Montana-Vermala", Bulletin Technique de la Suisse Romande (in French), 41 (17): 191–195, retrieved 23 October 2025
• Zehnder-Spörry, Roland; Laplace-Delapraz, M. (1915b), "Le chemin de fer funiculaire Sierre-Montana-Vermala", Bulletin Technique de la Suisse Romande (in French), 41 (18): 203–207, retrieved 23 October 2025
• Zehnder-Spörry, Roland; Laplace-Delapraz, M. (1915c), "Le chemin de fer funiculaire Sierre-Montana-Vermala", Bulletin Technique de la Suisse Romande (in French), 41 (19): 215–221, retrieved 23 October 2025
• Zehnder-Spörry, Roland (3 March 1916), "Elektrische Drahtseilbahn Siders-Montana-Vermala", Zeitschrift des Österreichischen Ingenieur- und Architektenvereins (in German), 68 (9): 169–174

References

1. Zehnder-Spörry (1915c), p.220 (but see Talk).
2. Wägli, Hans G., Schienennetz Schweiz, Reseau ferré suisse (in German and French)
3. SMC, Notre société (in French)
4. Mathys, Ernst (1942), Hundert Jahre Schweizerbahnen, historisch und technisch dargestellt, 1841-1941; Les chemins de fer suisses au cours d'un siècle, aperçu historique et technique, 1841-1941 (in German and French), Bern, pp. 25, 68, 88, 255
5. Informations aux voyageurs: Travaux de reconstruction de la ligne et des infrastructures du funiculaire SMC Sierre-Montana-Crans du 7 mars au 11 décembre 2022 (PDF) (in French)
6. Informations sur la reconstruction du funiculaire SMC (in French)
7. SMC, Funiculaire Horaires dès le 11 décembre 2022: 2225 Sierre – Montana – Crans (PDF) (in French)
8. Doppelmayr/Garaventa (2022). "Sierre – Montana – Crans uses innovative energy storage system". seilbahn.net (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2025.