What is a funicular railway?

In the news about the recent accident at a ski resort in Austria, the reporters called the cable car that carried the skiers up the mountain a "funicular railway." What is that and how does it work?

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Funicular Railway Giessbach Stand Seilbahn Berner Oberland…

World's steepest funicular railway starts chugging up Swiss

World's steepest funicular rail line to open in Switzerland