The Paris city government voted to construct the Montmartre transport system in 1891. Initially, operation was subcontracted to
Decauville through a concession that ended in 1931. Thereafter, the
Société des transports en commun de la région parisienne (STCRP) took control, and this was nationalized together with the (CMP) to form the (RATP), which continues to operate the funicular today. The original system in contrast to the current system was, in fact, a funicular with twin counterbalanced and interconnected cars. In the case of the Montmartre design, a system of onboard water bladders of could be filled or emptied to move the cars and to compensate for passenger load. In 1935, the system was converted to electricity. The system was completely rebuilt by the RATP in 1990–1991, as dual independently operating inclined elevators.
Chronology • 12 or 13 July 1900: Opening of the first water-driven funicular • 1 November 1931: Closing of the first water-driven funicular • 2 February 1935: Opening of the second electric funicular • 1 October 1990: Closing of the second electric funicular • 5 October 1991: Opening of the third inclined elevator, retaining the
funicular name
First system (1900) Construction of the Montmartre transport system was authorized by the Paris municipal council in 1891. It was built to serve the
Sacré-Cœur Basilica at the summit of Montmartre. Original plans specified electrical traction and six stations between two termini. As built, the system used only two terminal stations and water-filled bladders as
counterweights for motion. The funicular entered service on 12 or 13 July (sources vary), and its operation was ceded to the
Decauville company with a contract lasting until 1931. However, lacking the necessary authorisation from the Paris
Prefecture of Police to run the service, the company had to close the funicular from 24 November 1900 until 22 May 1901. The funicular was of
double track at
standard gauge, using the
Strub rack system for braking. The rails were supported by
sleepers made of
structural steel, supported on concrete pedestals. The system was powered by two sealed water tanks/bladders with a capacity of located under the floor of each cabin. The tanks of one cabin were refilled at the upper station, allowing its descent under gravity with the combined weight of the passengers and water, enabling the other carriage to ascend. A steam engine situated at the lower station worked the filling pumps at the upper station. The cabins held forty-eight passengers in four closed compartments arranged like a staircase; the two end platforms were reserved for the driver and
brakeman. These were retained for a brake system established on the
rack railway. This system transported a million passengers a year for some thirty years.
Second system (1935) When the contract expired, the
Mayor of Paris and the
Seine Department charged the (STCRP) with running the service and modernising the infrastructure. The rack system was deemed too dangerous and so the initial system was shut down; operations ceased on 1 November 1931. The water-driven system was replaced by two electrically driven cabins and reopened on 2 February 1935 after an interruption of more than three years. Traction was provided by a winch driven by a
electric motor, allowing a cabin holding fifty people to make the journey in 70 seconds at a speed of . The cabins were no longer arranged like a staircase but composed of a single compartment with a horizontal floor. By 1955, the line was in service from 7 am until 9 pm in winter and until 11 pm in summer, entry to the station being made by cancelling a bus ticket. In 1962, the funicular transported passengers and operations were suspended for some weeks for a new renovation. The line was opened in the presence of "" (Parisian illustrators) and Émile Kérembrun, the President of the , a philanthropic society.
Third system (1991) After fifty-five years of operation, transporting two million passengers annually, the system was in need of renovation. An idea was proposed by the
RATP and the Mairie de Paris, to lengthen the line with a tunnel to the
Anvers métro station. The idea was abandoned due to high cost. The RATP entirely rebuilt the funicular in 1990 and 1991. Operations ceased on 1 October 1990, being substituted with a minibus service, the "Montmartrobus", between the
Place Pigalle and the top of the , until the new system entered service on 5 October 1991. The old stations were demolished and rebuilt as designed by architect François Deslaugiers. The works were undertaken by
Schindler Group, a lift manufacturer, and cost 43.1 million
francs. Since its latest renovation, the system uses angled lift technology with electrical traction. It is no longer a funicular but retains the term in reflection of its history. The system no longer functions with the requisite interconnected and counterbalanced arrangement of a funicular (where cabins always move in opposite directions, the descending cabin counterweighing the ascending one). The machinery is located in the higher station; it is composed of two totally independent winches powered by motors. The cabins each weigh unladen, when full. They have a service brake and an emergency brake. The carriages and chassis were made by
Skirail, and the electrics by
Poma. Operation is entirely automatic: The presence and number of passengers are detected by a system combining electronic
balance scales mounted in the cabin floor, and
radar in the stations. A computer determines the cabin's departure, indicated with a display board in the cabin. According to the amount of passenger traffic, it chooses between the two possible operating speeds, and . For safety, the
platform edge doors open only when a cabin is present, as on the
Paris Métro Line 14 and some stations on London's
Jubilee line. On 7 December 2006 at 5.50 pm, a cabin crashed down the slope during a brake system test by
RATP. The terminal of the lifting cable broke. The service was suspended, adding to the problems of the residents and traders on the , the first having to make do with a less-frequent replacement bus service, the second seeing their trading levels fall (20–30% lower than for December 2006) from having fewer tourists. One of the two cabins was put back in service on 30 June 2007, the other on 2 August 2008. == System specifications ==