The Kiev funicular is the most famous transport in Podil. History of Kiev. Kiev funicular Technical features that characterize the Kiev funicular
Kiev funicular Is a funicular from Podil to the Upper Town in Kiev.
The funicular in Kiev is one of the oldest in the former USSR and in 1905 after the Kremlin and Pokhvalinsky elevators in Nizhny Novgorod(1896) and the Odessa funicular (1902).
The history of the funicular
The funicular in Kiev was built from 1903 to 1905. To the concessionaire of the Belgian joint stock company (City railroad), who owned a city tram, the construction cost 230 thousand rubles. The project provided for a lift length of 250 meters, but due to the impossibility of demolishing one lower private house, the route was reduced. The wagons and equipment were ordered in Switzerland, which had extensive experience in the creation of cable cars. Two DC motors with a voltage of 500 volts and a power of 65 horsepower each ensured reliable operation of the funicular.
Operation of the system began in May 1905.
In the summer of 1928, during the repair of the rope, an accident occurred and the upper carriage fell off and collided with the lower one, as a result of which the cars were completely destroyed. They had to be restored from scratch with the help of workers from the Dombal plant (now KZET named after Dzerzhinsky).
During the renovation in 1929, the funicular route was extended by another 40 meters, to Pochtovaya Square and Sagaidachny Street (then this street was called Revolution Street).
In the mid-1980s, the funicular was reconstructed by the architect Janos Vig et al.
Funicular technical characteristics
- Vertical drop: 75 meters
- Track length: 222 meters
- Slope: 18-20 °
- Track width: 1200 mm.
- Carriage capacity: 100 people
- Seats: 30 people
- Voltage: 440V DC
- Speed: 2 m / s.
- Movement time: 2-3 minutes.
Kiev funicular stations
The upper station of the Kiev funicular has an exit to the upper terrace of Vladimirskaya Gorka.
The lower station of the funicular at its present location was opened in 1929 when it was extended. Nearby is the Pochtovaya Ploshchad metro station and the River Station.
Fare
The fare in the Kiev funicular for 2017 is 4.00 hryvnia.
Funicular - an attraction or a means of transportation? We can say that it is both, because on weekdays it is (mainly!) Used for business trips from to, and on weekends it delivers citizens and guests of the capital to a picturesque park and numerous attractions of the Upper City. Therefore, if you have a question about where to relax in Kiev, and the weather turns out to be suitable for walking, feel free to go to Pochtovaya Square and enter the building marked "Funicular". We are sure that you will like this pastime, because it will be not only interesting, but also informative!
"Mikhailovsky Electric Rope Lift", as the Funicular was originally called in Kiev, was opened on May 7, 1905. And since then, this structure is not only a convenient means of transport, which allows you to easily overcome the ascent to the steep Dnieper slope and embark on the fascinating ones. It is an architectural monument of the 19th century, a popular attraction and one of the city's visiting cards. Which is not surprising. Indeed, at one time the capital lift became the second funicular in the Russian Empire (the first was opened in Odessa three years earlier), and today it is simply impossible to imagine the cultural and entertainment life of Kiev without it. At the same time, few people know that the Kiev funicular had to go a long and difficult way.
Until 1905, in order to pass the path along which trolleys now briskly run, it was necessary to overcome 500 steps and 36 spans of a steep wooden staircase. And although the importance of such a means of transportation was constantly hovering on the sidelines of the Kiev authorities, the idea of building a lift on the slopes of the Dnieper had been in the box for twenty years.
The delay in setting up a vehicle was complicated by the fact that it was technically impossible to launch a traditional vehicle, for example, a tram, along the route.
Nevertheless, in 1902, the city mayors gave the green light to start work on the construction of an electric lift. The project was put into operation, submitted back in 1883 by the "engineer in the square" Artur Adolfovich Abrahamson. The designer himself became the construction manager, and the design was entrusted to the outstanding engineers A. Baryshnikov and N. Pyatnitsky.
Interesting fact: According to various sources, from 172,000 to 230,000 rubles were spent on the innovative project, which by those standards was a fabulous sum!
The construction of the funicular was funded by the Belgian Joint Stock Company. The equipment and carriages were made in Switzerland. And already on May 7, 1905, a test launch of the funicular took place, and the next day the device was put into operation. At that time, the cable car connected Borichev Tok Street (below) and Mikhailovskaya Square (above). The length of the route was 200 meters, and two funicular cars could accommodate 70 people each.
Everything changed when an accident happened in 1928. Abrasion of the cables ruined both trolleys and provided an incentive for a major overhaul of the entire device.
The old uncomfortable and extremely slow cars - the speed of movement along the cable car was only 2 m / s - were replaced with new ones. They were made by special order at the Kiev Electric Transportation Plant. In addition, the lift route was extended by 40 meters. So the Kiev funicular connected Mikhailovskaya Square and Sagaidachny Street, thanks to which today the answer to the question of where to go in Kiev to have fun is not difficult: of course, to the funicular!
It is interesting: The shape of the upper station has not changed since 1905, which means that now we see it in its original form. But the location and exterior of the lower station were altered, although the overall ensemble of the funicular can be safely called harmonious.
The upgrade also took place in the 21st century. So, since the middle of October 2013, a new carriage has been shuttled - with repaired mechanisms and frames, silent wheels, and a new design. According to the Kyiv City State Administration, it was a large-scale reconstruction, for which UAH 430,000 was spent from the state budget.
Interesting fact: the funicular carries between 10,000 and 15,000 passengers daily.
And the funds were not wasted: today the funicular is one of the most popular places, and not only the people of Kiev, but also the guests of the capital love their friends.
Three hryvnia for the entrance, no more than 7 minutes of waiting, only three minutes on the way. But emotions and impressions - for years to come! If you are still thinking about where to go in Kiev - choose the funicular, you will not go wrong!
The transport system of Kiev is striking in its diversity, there is a subway with the deepest station in the world, there is a regular and high-speed tram, a trolley bus and the hero of today's post is a funicular. In Ukraine, there are only two funicular lines, and on the territory of the former USSR, there are no more than a dozen of them.
In 1905, Kiev became the third city of the Russian Empire to receive this exotic form of transport; before it, funiculars were built only in Nizhny Novgorod and Odessa:
The problem of building a funicular appeared with the development public transport... Kiev became the first city of the Russian Empire to launch a tram, while, due to the obstacle in the form of the Vladimir Hill, there was no communication between Podil and the Upper Town:
Andreevsky descent for trams was too narrow and steep, so the city authorities decided to organize a mechanical ascent right along the mountainside:
Work on the construction of the system began in 1903 and ended in 1905, their cost was 230 thousand imperial rubles, or 230 million rubles ($ 4 million) in today's money:
Funicular equipment and carriage bogies were manufactured in Switzerland:
The length of the system today is 222 meters, however, according to the initial project, it was supposed to be 250 meters:
The plans were thwarted by the owner of one of the estates located on the slope of Vladimirskaya Gorka. For the demolition of the estate, she demanded a sum that was too heavy for those times, as a result, the project of the system was shortened by almost 70 meters:
In 1929, when the problem of private property no longer interfered with the authorities, the funicular was extended by 40 meters - to Pochtovaya Square, in the same year the pavilion of the lower station was built, which has survived to this day:
The last reconstruction was carried out in 1983-1984, at the same time the carriages, which are still operating today, were last replaced:
Each carriage can accommodate up to 100 people:
The letters "L" and "P" mean "left" and "right" relative to the upper station:
A clear separation on the sides is necessary due to the peculiarity of the construction of the Kiev funicular. For the passing of cars in the middle of the track, the so-called Abt arrow is used, developed by the Swiss engineer Karl Abt in 1882:
Its essence lies in the fact that the outer rails remain solid, while the inner ones have a gap for the passage of the rope. The outer wheel of each car has two ridges that grip the rail and prevent lateral displacement, the inner wheels are thick and wide, while the ridges do not have the ridges to freely pass the gaps between the inner rails:
To ensure straight and curved movement, the rope is laid in a block system located between the rails:
The speed of the carriage is 2 meters per second, it covers the distance between the stations in 2.5 minutes:
From above, through a round window, the operator is watching the movement of the cars:
Buffers are needed to cushion in the event of a collision:
The entrance to the carriage is carried out directly from the steps:
The way for disabled people or mothers with strollers is closed here, the only way out is to carry the stroller on your hands:
The fare is cheap, it is only 3 hryvnia, almost 10 times cheaper than:
To pass the turnstiles, you need such a token, no inscriptions, unlike the metro token, it does not have:
Both stations are beautifully decorated with stained-glass windows and ceilings:
There are beautiful lamps on the walls:
The lower station overlooks Pochtovaya Square, 10 meters from the exit there is the metro station of the same name, the church across the road is the Church of the Nativity of Christ restored in 2004:
Sagaidachnogo Street - the main avenue of Kiev Podil, view towards Kontraktova Square:
Historical buildings at the intersection of Sagaidachny and Borichev descent streets - at the corner of the former tenement house in which the writer Alexander Kuprin lived, behind him is the building of the former mill, now the Podolsk branch of the National Parliamentary Library:
Today, the Kiev funicular is both a full-fledged mode of transport and a popular attraction, working from 6 am to 11 pm, it transports up to 15 thousand passengers daily. The annual passenger traffic reaches 4 million:
Talks about the reconstruction of the funicular have been going on for at least 10 years, three decades have passed since the last repair, the rolling stock has worn out, but attempts to hold a tender, which took place in 2008 and 2011, were not crowned with success. One of the main sights of Kiev is still waiting for its investor.
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The capital funicular has recently celebrated its 100th birthday. And the war saved him from death
The unique relief of Kiev is sung in legends, epics, odes, poems and other literary works. He was compared with little Switzerland, then with mountainous Italy, then with azure Venice, then with the mythical Arcadia. And Nechuya-Levitsky was lucky to once see in the Kiev landscapes and "ridges of the Alps", and "mountains near Lucerne", and "resorts over the Rhine", and even the "golden palaces" of the princess Parizada from the fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights". Everything in the surrounding nature was beautiful, only there was one small problem - it was still necessary to move between the Kiev mountains. And that already meant something. In the local toponymy, the names are still preserved: Mount Vzdyhalnitsa, Steep Descent, Dolgaya Niva, Dog Trail, Devil's Beremishche ...
The upper station of the funicular (Vladimirskaya Gorka, Mikhailovskaya Square)
FUNICULER BORN FROM THE MOUNTAINS
In ancient times, bridges and viaducts were built between the heights. But this only partially eased the situation. True, the horses saved. Noble animals came to the rescue of people even when Kiev began to acquire its own transport. This is how the "Office of Stagecoaches" appeared (1835), and then the first Horse-drawn Railway (1891), but the "four-legged friend" could not withstand such loads. And then the city fathers once again turned for advice to General Struve, who began his career in Kiev with the rank of engineer-captain. During this time, Amand Yegorovich built a railway bridge across the Dnieper, a water supply and a gas lighting system in the city.
Struve's brainchild was the first electric tram, launched in Kiev in the summer of 1892. It seemed that the transport system was established, and everyone can use it. But here the townspeople have already started talking about saving time: is it worth it to go around some hill for half an hour, if you can go directly to the intended goal, and not on your own two, but in a comfortable car of public transport. So the idea was born to build a funicular in Kiev.
UNMATCHED PROJECTS
There were many points for the funicular. Even in the days of Kievan Rus, the route of the current Andreevsky Spusk posed a threat to horse-drawn transport. The carts on the bumpy rise shook so much that the lost cargo had to be collected for hours. This is where the proverb came from: "What fell from the cart is gone" - the items dropped from the merchant carts, according to the prince's decree, began to go to the treasury of the city ruler. A thousand years later, the road from the Upper Town to Podil still dragged out the same miserable state.
In 1899, a group of engineers proposed to the provincial administration to install an electric cable lift on Andreevsky descent. The project was sent for consideration to St. Petersburg and got lost there. The same fate befell the work of the engineer Teofil Brusnitsky, who proposed in 1895 to connect the Borichev current with the St. ) squares are the prototype of the modern escalator.
Already in Soviet times, in 1932, engineer Podhaets came up with a proposal to build in Kiev a whole network of mechanical lifts at points: the Bosch-Pechersk bridge; Life Bazaar - Hay Bazaar (along Voznesensky Spusk); Dnieper crossing - Proletarian (now - Khreshchaty) garden; Bessarabka - Engels Street (now - Lutheran); Kirillovskaya Street (Frunze) - Boggovutovskaya.
In general, these transport transformations were adopted at a meeting of the City Council, but in connection with the transfer of the capital of Soviet Ukraine from Kharkov to Kiev, they turned out to be "old-fashioned". The new general plan of the city development provided for more radical perspectives.
The lower station of the funicular (Pochtovaya pl.)
THE CHOICE FALLED ON THE HELL
In fact, all the ideas to conquer the Kiev steep slopes collapsed, with the exception of one. It was nurtured for years by the leading railway engineer Arthur Abragamson, and after the development of technical documentation by engineers Pyatnitsky and Baryshnikov, it found its practical application. The place chosen by the creators of the project was historical. Literally until the middle of the last century, most researchers in Kiev believed that the chronicle Borichev descent ran in ancient times along the line of the current funicular, as evidenced by the name of the parallel street - Borichev descent. Perhaps Perun was dragged this way and thrown into the waters of the Dnieper. The people of Kiev called the tract the Devil's Beremishche, and medieval chronicles tell about witches who flocked here in the middle of the 17th century, to the walls of the Dominican monastery. At the beginning of the 19th century, the area was built up, and no one recalled past fears.
The construction of the Mikhailovsky Lift (as the funicular was first called) lasted from 1902 to 1905. Finally, on May 7, 1905, the grand opening of the first inclined cable car in Kiev took place. The length of the rail track was then 200 meters. Two cars, connected by a cable with a special mechanism, were set in motion using a 500 volt current and a 65 horsepower motor. The capacity of cars plying towards each other was 65-70 passengers in each. The flight lasted up to 3 minutes.
The people of Kiev were very proud of their cable car. The press wrote about her excitedly. And in the guidebook, published by Semyon Boguslavsky in 1909, one could read the following lines: "The Mikhailovsky rise is a miracle of modern technology. The upper station seems to hang in the air. It looks like a toy gazebo ... Everything is done not only gracefully, but also firmly. While one carriage with passengers, like a balloon, "takes off" up, the second - smoothly descends ... "
In the late 1920s, it was decided to extend the route from Mikhailovskaya Square to Borichev Toka by 38 meters, to the current Sagaidachny Street. True, there were some extraordinary incidents. During the replacement of the rope in the summer of 1928, the upper carriage with passengers unexpectedly fell down, where it collided with its "colleague", as a result of which both were deformed beyond recognition. Fortunately, people were not hurt.
The funicular had to undergo a long overhaul. However, if at the opening of the cable car all the mechanical equipment and carriages were manufactured in Switzerland, now, in connection with the abolition of private property, it was necessary to manage on our own. And the workers of the Dombal plant (now - KZET named after Dzerzhinsky) did not disappoint. They made the new carriages more beautiful and comfortable, while retaining the original mechanics.
It is interesting that the idea of directly connecting Mikhailovskaya and Pochtovaya squares was expressed at the end of the 19th century by the authors of the project, Pyatnitsky and Baryshnikov. But the owner of the estate, through which it was planned to run the funicular line, as compensation "bent" such a price that she had to confine herself to the deaf Borichev current. Under socialism, such "overlays" were excluded. In 1929, the line was continued, but here a new problem arose - the barrier of houses along Revolyutsii Street (now Sagaidachny). Without hesitation, the authorities set up a lobby for the lower station in one of the buildings, cutting through an exit in the direction of the Dnieper. In such an unusual combination of architectural styles, the Kiev funicular has existed for half a century.
THE FUNICULER SAVED ... THE WAR
Today, residents of the capital cannot imagine the work of city transport without an old and good friend - a funicular. Its romantic silhouette blended with the local landscape so vividly that it has forever become an irreplaceable attribute of the Kiev panorama. But there was a time when the fate of the funicular "hung in the balance" and saved it from destruction, as it may not sound paradoxical, the war ...
In the summer of 1934, the capital of Ukraine, as you know, moved from Kharkov to Kiev. The government moved here in full force. By and large, the ancient patriarchal city was not ready for such an honorable mission - vast areas were required for the construction of party and government institutions, and difficulties arose with the provision of housing for a large army of officials. A closed competition for the design of the Government Center was urgently announced, in which the leading architects of the country took part.
As a result, a project was taken as a basis for the construction of elite buildings in the Old City, between the current Mikhailovskaya and Sofievskaya squares. To implement the innovative ideas of the designers, it was required: to demolish the quarter of the Public Places and the building of the Real School, transfer the monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky to Bessarabka and get rid of religious institutions forever, that is, liquidate the Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery, the Three Saints and Tithes Churches, the churches of St. George and the Nativity of Christ at the Postal Square. There was little left - to dismantle the St. Sophia Cathedral ... But here the French opposed. They recalled that, after all, Anna Yaroslavna, Queen of France, was the daughter of the founder of this legendary monastery.
The authorities became thoughtful and decided to confine themselves to "truncating" the main bell tower of the cathedral into two tiers and to extend Sretenskaya Street to the monastery courtyard. As for the funicular, it should have been moved to another place, since it was along this route that the grand staircase, crowned with a giant monument to Lenin, was supposed to be located (the dimensions were planned from 20 to 100 meters).
In 1939, a bulky building of the Central Committee of the CP (b) U (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) was erected on the site of the destroyed Church of the Three Saints. The same fate awaited the "decapitated" territory of the Golden-Domed Monastery. They didn't reach the funicular: it was 1941.
"WAGON LIKE CROCODILE ..."
After the war, the funicular was again at the "zenith of glory". “Every day,” the newspapers wrote, “thousands of Kyivans go up to the upper part of the city or from the center down to Podol, to their place of work - to enterprises and institutions. In summer, for many thousands of Kyivans, this is the most convenient way to quickly get to the Dnieper ferry to the beach. .. "
Scientists, designers, and public figures spoke about the prospects for improving mechanical lifting. In the Kiev guidebook for 1954 one could read: “Further reconstruction of the funicular is planned - new all-metal carriages, comfortable and beautiful, will run here. The compartments are equipped with soft chairs. The carriages are designed for 90 passengers each. The equipment of the turbine hall is also being replaced. new, powerful motors ".
In 1958, new equipment was installed in the machine room of the funicular. The carriages have changed their design, the lobbies have been prettier. In 1984 (on the eve of the 80th anniversary) a large-scale reconstruction of the lift was carried out with a complete re-equipment of the lower station. The architectural appearance of the funicular from the Dnieper side has become unique.
What would the great master of the word Nechui-Levitsky say today about mechanical ascent? Once he surprised his fellow citizens by describing a technical novelty in rather unconventional and even fantastic forms of verbal presentation. Here is this fragment: "I go to the station of the tram descent and go out to the mountains with the monastery, to the edge of the steep, to which a glass covered corridor clings obliquely and stretches out like a crayfish hung by its neck and hangs, propped up from the bottom of the steep cliff with iron pillars. Soon it stuck out from there. a heavy red carriage, like a crocodile ... A picture caresses my eyes: two obliquely made carriages pull each other up and down, as if the lads are playing some wonderful tugs or swinging on a swing somewhere in the village above Zelenaya Beam .. . "(" Evening on Vladimirskaya Hill ", 1910).
Dmitry LAVROV for "Today"
For more than 100 years, Kievites and guests of the capital have been actively using the funicular, which connects Podil with the Upper City. An unusual and in its own way unique transport system allows you to quickly go up or down the steep Vladimirskaya Gorka. It would seem that there is something new to write about such a well-known and discussed object like the Kiev funicular? It turned out that there is something to write about. Firstly, as it turned out, different sources provide contradictory data on the construction of the funicular, the dates of reconstruction, etc. Secondly, its internal structure is not affected anywhere. And finally, thirdly, there are a number of little-known, but very interesting historical photographs. Therefore, with your permission, let's talk again about the Kiev funicular. Contrary to the established tradition, there will first be a post about the modern funicular, and then about its history.
1. The Kiev funicular was opened in 1905 (the second in Ukraine after the Odessa one). In a month, this unusual transport system will be 109 years old. Perhaps the most classic view of the funicular track: 
2. The length of the track is 222 m, the slope is 18-20 °. 
3. Travel time one way takes about 3 minutes. 
4. The difference in height between the upper and lower stations is 75 m. 
5. The upper part of the funicular route is located on a reinforced concrete overpass: 
6. By the way, the 415 m long mountain road (Katoomba Scenic Railway) located near the Australian city of Katoomba is the record holder for the steepness of the track. Its slope reaches 52 °. 
7. The Kiev funicular uses a pendulum (the most common) scheme of work: two non-motorized cars are rigidly connected by a rope thrown over a pulley located at the upper station. Moving one of the carriages downward leads to a symmetrical displacement of the other carriage upward, and the cars disperse at the central point of the track. In such a system, the engine driving the pulley spends energy only to move the difference in weight between two differently filled carriages, as well as to overcome the frictional force. 
8. The rope connecting the cars is laid between the support rails in a special system of straight and oblique blocks, which ensure the deflection of the rope along the track: 
9. The rope is changed every few years. Its condition is periodically monitored, thickness and a number of other parameters are measured. 
10. The Abt switch is used to pass the wagons. Its essence is that the outer rails of the track are solid, and the inner ones have gaps for the passage of the rope. 
11. Each solid rail is surrounded on both sides by the flanges of the car wheels, and each car embraces its own rail and the side of movement at the junction depends on this. The second half of the carriages wheels without flanges, has a wide surface and simply rolls on the rail heads (see the picture for greater clarity). 
12. Each cable car has a wedge-shaped emergency brake that wraps around the rail like pliers. It is automatically triggered when the car develops a speed of more than 9 km / h or when the magic pedal is pressed, which is under the feet of the operator in the car. The operation of this brake is checked at regular intervals. 
13. For effective brake operation, the funicular rails have a special profile with a wide wedge-shaped side surface of the head. The emergency brake is pressed against this surface. 
14. The gauge of the funicular is 1200 mm (for comparison: the gauge of the railway gauge is 1520 mm). 
15. The carriages of each funicular are always designed individually. the steepness of the track, its length, the width of the rail and the dimensions of the cars are different everywhere. 
16. The cars of the Kiev funicular are signed with the letters "L" (left) and "P" (right) relative to the upper station. 
17. "Nanopantograph" (c) russos
... Through the 600 V overhead line, the trailers are powered for interior lighting, heating and compressors, which are needed to operate the doors and emergency brakes. At the level of the rail, two more wires can be seen: through them, a current of 24 V is supplied to the cars, which ensures the operation of the control and lighting of the cabin. The return current of both the high-voltage circuit and the low-voltage circuit flows out through the rails. 
18. Each carriage can accommodate up to 100 people, of which 30 are seats. The weight of one carriage without passengers is about 10 tons. 
19. In the trailers, the old-fashioned way sits an operator who opens and closes the doors, confirms readiness for departure via radio communication, controls the movement and, if necessary, can activate the emergency brake and evacuate passengers. 
20. 
21. The pavilions of the funicular stations have long been firmly integrated into the urban landscape. 
22. The funicular acquired its present appearance after the reconstruction in 1984 (architect Janos Vig, Valentin Yezhov, etc.). 
23. Interior decoration of the lower station. Decorative metal profile arches alternate with stained glass arches: 
24. At the level of the landing platforms, the vault of the pavilion of the lower station rises up a kind of ladder: 
25. If appearance and even the location of the lower station has changed several times over the past hundred years, the shape of the upper station has not fundamentally changed since the opening of the funicular. 
26. At the entrance of the upper station, there is a small diorama showing the history of the development of the funicular and the surrounding area. 
27. Pavilion of the upper station: 
28. 
29. Stained-glass windows: 
30. At the upper station through a round window, the driver looks after the funicular: 
31. Workplace of the driver. Very similar to the workplace of a mine cage lift operator :) 
32. In the normal mode, the movement of the funicular carriages is controlled by automatic equipment. You just need to start the system after receiving confirmation of the readiness of both cars. 
33. The nominal speed of the carriages is 7.2 km / h (2 m / s). The carriages don't want to move without hearts :) 
34. Directly under the driver's workstation there is a traction drive room with a main brake. We go downstairs and suddenly find ourselves in a room with two motor-compressors. The answer to my question "Why is it here?" found in a nearby turbine room. 
35. Turbine hall. The most noticeable detail of this room is the pulley through which the rope is thrown to hold the wagons. Huge brake pads wrap around the pulley on both sides. In the foreground are two 82 kW traction motors powered by a 440 V mains supply. 
36.From the opposite side of the room, both parts of the rope come to the pulley: 
37. The brake pads are pneumatically actuated (this is where the compressors come in handy). In the normal position, the pads with the help of the weights that you see in the photo are pressed against the pulley and the funicular cars are in a braked state. When the trailers move, compressed air enters the cylinders and the pads are unclenched, releasing the pulley. 
A video showing the operation of the pulley. At the end, the pads work, but their movement is very small (literally a couple of millimeters) and is almost imperceptible in the video.
38. The funicular is actively used both as urban transport and as a tourist attraction. Daily passenger traffic is 10-15 thousand passengers. On weekends and holidays, there are often long queues at the funicular. 
39. During last year's record snowfall, the funicular was used as a ski lift for skiing down the Andreevsky Spusk :) 
40. In 2008, tenders were announced for the overhaul of the funicular and the manufacture of new cars. The plan was to build a new load-bearing ramp, replace the lighting system, fencing and wagons, and renovate the upper and lower stations. However, the matter did not go further than the announcement of the winner of the tender, since prevented by the economic crisis. The new reconstruction should be the fourth in the history of the Kiev funicular, but when it will happen is still unknown. 
P.S. Thanks to the Kiev Development Strategy team at the Kyiv City State Administration for assistance in organizing the shooting and to the staff of the Kiev funicular for a tour of the office premises.
