The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad laid a route through this spectacular chasm in the Arkansas River in 1877. The 1 270ft-long suspension bridge, which until 2001 was the world's highest (955ft), opened in 1929. A funicular railway plunging precipitously from the rim dates from the 1931; and the aerial tramway spanning the gorge from 1969. In 1999, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad began operating passenger trains once again through the gorge, with trains departing from Cañon City's Santa Fe Depot.