The main and oldest cable car in Zurich was first called Zurichbergbahn, then it was renamed to SBG Polybahn. Until now, this rail tram is not only a pleasant tourist fun, but also quite a working vehicle. It was launched in 1889 for the joy of the students of the University of Zurich, who did not have to climb up the hill from the quay. The final funicular station is right outside the ETH Zürich building. The university was then named Eidgenossisches Polytechnikum, from which Polyban got its name.

In the 1950s transport company Zurichbergbahn began to lose money, and by the 70th the future of the funicular was in jeopardy. Saved by his United Swiss Bank (today - SBG), having allocated funds for maintenance and transferring his own name to Poliban. Accordingly, when the banking group was named UBS AG in 1998, the funicular was renamed

Now the UBS Polybahn funicular works on an electric drive, and the first eight years of work went on water (not in terms of fuel, of course, but as ballast) . She was filled with a special tank at the top station, which was emptying below. In 1996, the whole funicular system was radically improved and fully automated, and the old line with three rails was replaced with a modern one, with two. Nevertheless, the sight of the redest tramway has remained the same: it is a small old car with an open platform that can accommodate fifty people at a time.

The whole line of Poliban - these are only two stations, the upper one (university) and the lower one (the Limmata embankment) . The lower station is located in a residential building built in 1888, directly at the Starbucks coffee shop . Upper - old wooden building of the traditional Swiss rural species . Go between stations about 175 meters . Ka It would not be much, but with a steep slope of 23% and a height difference of more than 40 meters, this is a serious help if you are exploring the city on foot . The whole road takes 100 seconds, and there are only two tramways on the line, closed loop . Traffic interval - two and a half minutes . In 1998, the Polyban line set a record of 2 million transported passengers .

The cost of a trip by cable car is included in the price of a single transport city ​​ticket in zone 110. A separate trip to one side with 1, 20 CHF.

There are other funiculars in the city - for example, Dolderban, also with red cars, only modern. He carries passengers to Adlisberg Hill, to the historic Grand Hotel Dolder. True, it is technically wrong to call it funicular: since the 70s, Dodderban has been working on a gear drive. A truly high-grade funicular is Rigiblik, but its line is located in the north-east of the city, practically in the suburbs, and the train of this funicular is very ordinary and uninteresting.

Train car, Funicular Polyban

Funicular Poliban