Firstbahn

The Firstbahn AG operates the Gondola ride from Grindelwald, Switzerland to First Schreckfeld via Bort and Schreckfeld. Each gondola can accommodate six people and it can transport 1,200 people per hour over the 5,226 meter distance, which takes about twenty-five minutes. 

The line is owned by Jungfraubahn Holding AG, a holding company that also owns the Jungfraubahn, Wengernalpbahn, Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen–Mürren, and Harderbahn.  Through that holding company it is part of the Allianz - Jungfrau Top of Europe marketing alliance, which also includes the separately owned Berner Oberland-Bahn and Schynige Platte-Bahn.

The initial ideas for the construction of a First railway, albeit as a funicular, began to evolve in the 1930s. After the end of World War II, the Ludwig von Roll’schen Eisenwerke AG Von Roll Holding AG designed a completely new system for mountain railways that was used on First, a system of chairlifts. On December 29, 1946, the two sections of Grindelwald-Oberhaus and Oberhaus-Bort, on February 14, 1947 the Bort-Egg section and on 28 February the Egg-First section were handed over to the company. The official inauguration took place on June 15, 1947.

Do to the age of the chairlift system, replacement design stated in 1986, which would help increase passenger capacity, improved comfort and modify the route. Thanks to a slightly amended route and coordinated planning, construction of the 6-seater aerial gondola began on June 7, 1990 with the groundbreaking ceremony at Bort intermediate station. The old chairlift continued to operate until August 18, 1991. The new aerial gondola began operating in November 1991, covering a distance of 5,226 meters, with a change in elevation over that span of 1,105 meters.

See also
 List of mountain railways in Switzerland
 Rail transport in Switzerland
Index of Switzerland-related articles

References

External links

 Jungfrau Railways website 
 "Grindelwald to Berghaus Bort on the Firstbahn" video
 "Alpine Climbing by Railroad" Popular Mechanics, December 1911, pp. 830–831.
 Tourism

Category:Transport in the Alps
Category:Bernese Oberland
Category:Mountain railways
Category:Gondola lifts
Category:Transport in the canton of Bern
Category:Tourist attractions in the Canton of Bern