The Sant Joan Funicular: One hundred years of history

The Sant Joan Funicular: One hundred years of history. . , The opening of the Montserrat Rack Railway in 1892 made it easier for the multitude of pilgrims to get to the monastery, but they also wanted to go higher up the mountain. The first projects were drawn up in the early 20th century and in 1916 the decision was taken to build a 800 mm-gauge funicular line to climb close to the chapel of Sant Joan. The Sant Joan Funicular was finally opened on 1st September 1918 and soon became very popular with passengers. In fact, high demand by passengers meant it had to be completely rebuilt to increase its capacity and size. Thus, in November 1925 work began to alter the route and lay new tracks. The purchase of new cars with higher capacity enabled the new funicular to open on 19th June 1926., After the difficulties and uncertainties of the Spanish Civil War years (1936-1939), after the war the number of passengers began to recover gradually, and with the tourist boom of the 1960s the line was at its most successful. In 1983 the Sant Joan Funicular was taken over by the government of Catalonia, and in 1986 it became part of the structure of the new public company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). The next major modernisation of the funicular was in 1997, with the arrival of new panoramic coachwork. In recent years, to adapt to the new challenges of the future of Montserrat mountain and fit the latest technology and the best safety systems, FGC has fully refurbished the line: new high-capacity rolling stock arrived in 2015, and in 2018 traction and safety systems have been updated. As a result the Sant Joan Funicular is now one of the most modern cable transport systems in Europe., Other languages not transcribed