Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern

The Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern is a funicular railway at the Linth-Limmern pumped storage plant in the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Built in 2013[1][2] for a transport capacity of 215 tonnes (237 tons),[3][4][5] the funicular moved the four transformers of the hydroelectric plant from Tierfehd at an elevation of 816 m (2,677 ft) to the machinery cavern of the Limmern plant at 1,697 m (5,568 ft).[6] This made it the highest-capacity funicular.[4] The 3,778-metre-long (12,395 ft) line, passing through a tunnel, has an elevation difference of 882 m (2,894 ft) and an incline of 24 per cent.[3] The single track has a passing loop[4] for the descending car.

Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern
The lower station (2020)
Overview
Other name(s)	Standseilbahn Kraftwerk Linth-Limmern Tierfehd–Maschinenkaverne Standseilbahn Tierfehd–Maschinenkaverne PSW Limmern Standseilbahn SSB 1 im Zugangsstollen ZS I
Status	In operation
Owner	Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG (KLL)
Locale	Linthal, Glarus, Switzerland
Coordinates	46.8665°N 8.9992°E / 46.8665; 8.9992
Termini	Tierfehd "Maschinenkaverne Pumpspeicherwerk Limmern"
Website	axpo.com
Service
Type	Funicular, underground
Rolling stock	2 for 30 passengers or 120t each (also: 1 for 215 t)
History
Opened	September 2013 (2013-09)
Technical
Line length	3,778 m (12,395 ft)
Number of tracks	1 with passing loop
Track gauge	1,800 mm (5 ft 10+7⁄8 in)
Electrification	from opening (2x 870 kW)
Operating speed	6 metres per second (20 ft/s) for 40 t; 0.5 metres per second (1.6 ft/s) for 215 t
Maximum incline	24% (constant)

Since the completion of the plant's expansion, the funicular is used by the staff of and visitors to the hydroelectric plant. It is owned by Kraftwerke Linth-Limmern AG (KLL), a joint venture of Axpo (85%) and the Canton of Glarus (15%).[7]

The lower station is accessed through a short tunnel from Tierfehd,[8] near the aerial cableways to Kalktrittli and Baumgartenalp: 46.878421°N 8.98714°E / 46.878421; 8.98714 (Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern (lower station)).[2]

The upper station is in the machinery cavern near the dam of Limmernsee; 46.848783°N 9.010871°E / 46.848783; 9.010871 (Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern (upper station)).[2] In proximity, another underground funicular leads from Kavernenzentrale Muttsee at 1870 m to Muttenkopf at 2393 m, near Muttsee.[9][10]

The funicular was built by Garaventa.[1][11] A tunnel boring machine (TBM) with a diameter of 8 metres (26 ft) was used to excavate the tunnel.[12]