Earlier on the place of Kyiv funicular was a wooden staircase. Hike from Podil to the Upper Town was very hard.
Therefore, in the early 20th century, when the appropriate equipment appeared, city officials started to wonder how to improve transportation between Lower and Upper Town. Andrew's Descent was not suitable because of its steepness and narrowness, therefore, it was decided to make electric wire rope ascent in the place of the wooden stairs. It was built for 2 years and in 1905, Mikhailovsky funicular started to operate.
You can walk up and down the stairs, not on the funicular. The movement of the trailer is 3 minutes, and the stations are located from each other at a height of 76 meters.