Le Remontoir is a funicular-like inclined elevator in Le Locle, Switzerland. It links the town's centre with Le Locle railway station[2] located above. With a length of 62 m, it climbs a difference of elevation of 24 m.[3][4][5] The lower station is located in Rue de la Côte at a small square named Sidmouth's Square.[6]
History
When the railway line from Neuchatel to Le Locle was built in 1857, the current, off-centre site of the railway station was chosen for cost reason. It was maintained for the current station building of 1883. Projects in the 20th century sought to improve access.[7]
In 2010, the city unanimously approved funding for a project of two elevator towers linking the centre to the railway station.[7] Following concerns about its impact on the cityscape of the World Heritage site, Federal Office of Culture mandated Diener & Diener for an alternative. The resulting project with an inclined elevator[8][9][10] was compared to Polybahn.[10] The necessary additional funding[10] was approved in 2012.
The elevator was opened to the public on 1 September 2014 (2014-09-01)[11][12] and officially inaugurated on 13 June 2015 (2015-06-13).
By 2016, it made an average of 530 runs per day.[13] There were 30 technical incidents in 2015.[13]
In 2016, the square at the lower station was named Sidmouth's Square.[6]
The 187,000 runs in 2018 represented 12,061 km.[14]
References
^Ville du Locle (2021), "Sécurité publique", Rapports de gestion des services de l'administration communale pour l'exercice 2020 (in French), p. 192
^Leutwiler, Ernst B. (June 2016), "Two perspectives of Le Locle: the lift to the station", Swiss Express: The Magazine Swiss Railways Society (126): 20
^Balmer, Sylvie (12 November 2014), "Remontés contre l'ascenseur: Le PLR s'inquiète des couacs du Remontoir", L'Express (in French), p. 9
^ ab
Balmer, Sylvie (14 March 2016), "Le coût des pannes du Remontoir: L'ascenseur de la gare a connu une trentaine d'arrêts en 2015", L'Impartial (in French), p. 5
^Ville du Locle (2019), "Liaison gare / centre-ville", Rapports de gestion des services de l'administration communale pour l'exercice 2018 (in French), p. 135
