The Funicular has been one of the sights for almost a century

Every day, passengers of the metropolitan funicular railroad are greeted by the four-legged blondes, Shaiba and Bilka. “They are our pride,” Funicular Manager Stepan Kokhan says affectionately of the mascots. He adds that it was regular passengers who persuaded public health authorities to leave alone these two representatives of man’s best friends. However, while the funicular chief’s face mellows when he casts a cursory glance at his pets, he shows quite contrary emotions when he examines a car or the surrounding area. The whole rail line territory belongs to three separate organizations: while the funicular’s section pleases your eye with its tidiness, the two other are an eyesore, strewn with the last year’s fallen leaves and plastic bags all over. Against the backdrop of the picturesque views that open from the funicular car’s window, this unaesthetic detail is truly a dose of tar into the honey of beauty.

The 1906 Kyiv Calendar called the Mykhailovsky electrical elevator, as the funicular was once called, “a wonder of the arts and sciences.” Enraptured, the publication furnishes exhaustive information about the new means of transportation: it explains the principle of its function, indicates the speed (two meters a second), the road’s length (200 meters), the strength of cable (22 times as strong as required by the towing conditions; in other words, it had and has seven to ten times the recommended margin of safety), a car’s seating capacity (about 60), and its weight with passengers on (over 900 poods; a pood is about 16 kg). The report goes so far as to describe the parameters of every viaduct span: this “is of interest in that a new material — ferroconcrete” — was used in the construction.

So, on May 7, 1905, thanks to the efforts of mechanical engineer A. Abrahamson, civil engineers Pyatnytsky and Baryshnikov, as well as the assistance of the Theodore Bell Swiss mechanical plant, the capital saw witnessed a small revolution: the cutting of a tricolor ribbon during the inauguration of the Mykhailovsky Elevator solved the problem of linking Podil with the Old Town.

“Kyiv’s best technological embellishment,” to quote Abrahamson, part of the No. 15 streetcar route, connecting the present-day Sofiya Square, Mykhailovsky Elevator, and Borychiv Tik, was literally stormed by the public in its first days. Many, still afraid of the cars, just watched the movement, some others traveled up and down several times. The specially installed counters showed that 22,000 people used the funicular on May 8, 1905. In the first week of operation the mechanical elevator’s cable became elongated by a meter, which, however, does not mean that this unusual transport bodes any danger. The wedge brake, installed in the cars then and now, is still considered the most reliable for this sort of vehicle.

The funicular saw the peak of its popularity in the late 1920s: cars were full and trains stood waiting for some seconds (now the waiting time is about four minutes in off-peak hours). In the same decade the funicular was reconstructed for the first time, having the line extended by 38 meters as far as Post Office Square. What must have played an important part in this was the unforgettable “expropriation of private property:” when the funicular was being built in 1905, the landlord demanded too much for the segment from Borychiv Tik to the square.

Conversely, after its most recent radical refurbishing in 1984, when the funicular assumed its current visage, it began to experience some difficulties as a result of changed economic conditions and long-lasting realities. For example, current funicular manager Stepan Kokhan says that when he had to turn to the factory for spare parts, he was told they were no longer in production. While there are so far no problems with the replacement of some components, the routine maintenance of cars has to be done by scraping the bottom of the barrel. Moreover, the cars have to work and stand outdoors all kinds of weather. Yet, the manager immediately notes that there are no grounds at all to suspect the cars of being unreliable. Even in today’s conditions, problems are still being ironed out — in any case, the experts have no complaints about the funicular mechanisms. On the other hand, there really are grounds to doubt that Kyivans are deferential toward this pride of theirs (there once were nine funiculars in the Soviet Union, but we failed to learn if they are still in operation, for the funicular staff of the newly independent states finds it too expensive to communicate by phone). Nonferrous metal ferrets once cut off the lower power cable overnight. The repaired cable had to be linked to the warning signals that reacts to any damage in the wire, but the funicular, which normally caters to between 8000 and 17,000 Kyivans, was idle for half a day.

As to passengers, they are most welcome on the funicular, but the management still believes free rides, now allowed for some categories, should be canceled: in that case, according to Mr. Kokhan, the funicular could be self- supporting. We certainly cannot judge to what extent this measure would be correct and accomplishable. Yet, we can understand what the funicular people mean. For instance, there are several governmental bodies situated next to the funicular’s upper exit, whose employees have the right to the above-mentioned free rides and — for want of any other suitable way of transportation from Podil to Sofia Square — use the funicular every day. Another example: schoolchildren riding in a group of 25 and more have the right to pay just a nominal fare. Moreover, the tradition of equating the funicular with the streetcar not only displeases its employees but also keeps them in the red after the same tickets were introduced for all types of transport (recall that some individuals save the ticket bought for a different type of transport): the funicular is partially owned by the Kyivpastrans (Kyiv Passenger Transportation) city utility.

Yet, this is a daily routine also typical of other means of transportation. So it is better to think about the coming holiday: let me remind you that Kyiv’s funicular will be celebrating its glorious centenary in only two years. This will involve a new large scale reconstruction: replacing the electrical wiring alone will cost half a million dollars. As to the cars, experts are considering the idea of getting back to what once was a multistage configuration: a poll of passengers showed this is the most convenient option. Switzerland has tentatively expressed readiness to take part in the pre-holiday facelift as well as in celebrating the jubilee. Incidentally, a funicular similar to the one in Kyiv functions in Bern, but it transports far fewer passengers. This local sight is not, of course, the most prominent of the about four hundred systems of its kind operating worldwide, but it matters little in the long run. For what is beyond any doubt is that it is extremely difficult to imagine the Ukrainian capital without this mini-streetcar (even if the management winces at this name) that adds special charm to Kyiv’s picturesque tournure. And nobody wants even to think about it.