Abandoned funicular becomes Swiss village's lifeline

Paul Heymont 3/20/172:00 PM

An out-of-service funicular is being rushed back into service to serve the remote mountain village of Bristen in south-central Switzerland, which lost its only road to the outside world in a landslide last week.

Since a week ago Sunday, only a slippery footpath has been passable for the 450 inhabitants. Some essential supplies have come in by helicopter.

The funicular, built originally in 1920 to serve a nearby power plant, has been closed since 1998, although it was briefly used in 2003 when another landslide isolated the village.

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