Since 1909 the Chemin de fer du Montenvers has been a rack railway line climbing from the resort town of Chamonix, in the Haute-Savoie region of France to the Hotel de Montenvers station at the Mer de Glace, literally "Sea of Ice", at an altitude of 1,913 metres (6,276 ft).
The metre gauge line is 5.1 km (3.2 miles) in length and uses using the Strub rack system (except at the terminal stations) to overcome a height difference of 871 metres (2,858 ft). Except for the terminal stations the line has a gradient varying from 11% to 22%. It was worked by steam locomotives until it was electrified in 1953 using an overhead line at 11,000 Volts, 50 Hz AC. One of the former steam locomotives is now displayed on a plinth at Chamonix.
Services are provided by 6 electric railcars and 3 diesel locomotives. Trains run at 14 to 20 km/h (8.7 to 12.4 mph) and take 20 minutes each way for the journey.
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