Vilnius – Funicular Railway

There is a funicular railway which goes from the Old Arsenal building up to the base of Gediminas Castle, which avoids a walk up a relatively steep hill. It’s a modern innovation, having been installed as recently as 2003. Unfortunately, at the moment, it’s a bit broken.

The hill on which the castle, and the railway, is located on is a bit prone to landslides. I’m not sure why the hill is deciding to collapse at this particular moment in time, but it’s causing a headache for those responsible for protecting the heritage of the site.

The railway went out of use in 2016 and there were plans to repair it, although the cost of repair is substantial. And the funicular railway itself is controversial, with the Director of the Lithuanian National Museum wanting it entirely removed for disturbing the look of the hill.

Personally, I think it’d be useful to repair it, not least because there’s no other practical way of those with limited mobility reaching the top of the hill. Given that the railway is relatively new, it’d seem a shame to lose something which I’m sure many people would enjoy using.