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Kuenzelsau & Bad Wildbad – Two funicular railways for urban districts

26. February 2022

Gangloff manufactured carriages for two funicular railways in Baden-Württemberg that originally had very similar passenger profiles. Thanks to a complete renovation in 2011, the Sommerbergbahn funicular in Bad Wildbad is now one of Germany’s most modern funicular railways. The Künzelsau funicular was built as an entirely new railway in 2000. This line has more of the character of a classic local transport feeder, connecting the town of Künzelsau with the new Taläcker development area on the plateau. The railway operates from 6:15 in the morning until 10:30 at night. The urban area, with a population of 4,000, is served by two carriages that can accommodate 80 people. 960 people per hour can be carried in each direction of travel.

For the Sommerbergbahn in Bad Wildbad, there are far fewer permanent residents on the mountain. But tourism traffic is much more prominent here. Targeted control of the different passenger groups was already recognised as an important factor at that time. For this reason, the carriages were built with specially equipped compartments for pedestrians and bikers. To ensure passenger comfort, Calag integrated the latest technology for the ventilation of the passenger space in summer 2021. The panoramic roof windows, now fitted with electronic controls, open and close automatically in response to feedback from a temperature sensor, depending on the inside temperature or weather conditions.

Funicular railways require very little maintenance and meet with high levels of acceptance from urban users. Thanks to their spacious layout and options for various compartment configurations, rail operators can operate vehicles with ideally customised equipment and customer guidance.