Mon Incline in Pittsburgh gets stuck with nearly 30 passengers on board
By Michael Guise, Ricky Sayer
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — First responders rescued 27 passengers stuck on board the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
Crews safely removed the passengers after the east and west cars “unexpectedly stopped working” during a trip, according to Adam Brandolph, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Regional Transit. The incline stopped working around 2:25 p.m. when the cars stopped about 40 feet short of their stations.
“It started going up. And as soon as it started to pick up speed, it just stopped,” passenger Trevor Graham said. “It just froze.”
The five passengers in the west car, the car closest to the upper station, were rescued by 4:20 p.m., and the 22 passengers on the east car were rescued by 6 p.m. A Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire ladder truck was brought in around 5:30 p.m. to help rescue the passengers on the east car faster. At first, ropes were used to bring passengers to safety.
“It was a little bit tenuous,” passenger Gary Leikam said.
Emergency crews remained in contact with the passengers during the incident. No injuries were reported.
“It was interesting,” Graham said. “I didn’t think my day would turn out the way it did.”
Brandolph said crews tried to “restart” the Mon Incline ” a few times” before removing the passengers. The cause of the shutdown is under investigation.
“I want to extend my deepest thanks to the first responders – paramedics, firefighters, and police officers – who helped get these riders to safety,” PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman said in a news release. “I also want to apologize to the riders who were inconvenienced today and thank them for remaining calm in a high stress situation.”
The incline will remain closed through at least Monday morning, Brandolph said. Until it reopens, Pittsburgh Regional Transit will utilize shuttle buses from the bus stop at Station Square to the incline’s upper station.
The Mon Incline, which opened in 1870, is the oldest continuously operating funicular railway in the U.S. It underwent a multi-million dollar upgrade in 2023, but still has faced troubles, including multiple closures in 2024.
First responders attend training exercises to prepare for emergencies on the Mon Incline.
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