THE funicular railway at Cairngorm Mountain resort is to return to service on February 27, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has announced.
The railway has been out of action since August 2023 whilst an extensive programme of remediation works was led by Balfour Beatty on behalf of HIE.
All safety-critical matters have now been concluded, enabling resort operator Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL) to bring the railway back to service for the remainder of the current snowsports season.
Tim Hurst, interim CEO of CMSL, said, “The Cairngorm Mountain team are overjoyed to be welcoming customers onto the funicular railway once more.
“Following confirmation from our parent company Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the railway has been handed over to us at CMSL to operate once more. We recognise how critical the railway is, not only to our entire team here at CMSL, but to all our customers and to many businesses in the local and regional area.
“We would like to thank all our visitors for their patience whilst remediation took place.”
HIE added that, weather conditions permitting, the 2km funicular railway will run a regular service throughout the day, seven days a week, taking snowsports enthusiasts and sightseers from the base station to the Ptarmigan building at the top of the slopes in around five minutes.
The funicular was withdrawn from service on safety grounds in August 2023 after a routine inspection revealed that the tension of some scarf joints that link beams and piers was below the recommended level.
Further inspections revealed that the issue was extensive and that further strengthening of beams and diaphragms and regrouting of base plates was also required to return the funicular to safe operations.
A combination of the scale and technical complexity of the remediation programme, plus the challenges of working in an exposed mountain environment in often harsh weather, led to the works taking longer than had initially been expected, HIE said.
In addition to the structural works, the two funicular carriages have also had new undercarriage assemblies fitted by specialist Swiss company Garaventa, which also carried out routine inspection and maintenance on the trains earlier this month.
Balfour Beatty will return to Cairngorm during a less busy period in late spring or early summer to carry out some final remediation works that are not essential for safe operations.
David Oxley, director of strategic projects at HIE, said, “Clearly, it has taken longer than we had hoped to get to this position, but the return of the funicular is a watershed moment for Cairngorm Mountain and its many loyal visitors.
“Cairngorm Mountain plays an important role as a prime Scottish visitor attraction and a driver of economic activity at the heart of the local community.
“With the return of the funicular, people across a huge range of ages and abilities will again be able to experience this wonderful mountain environment not only in winter, but every season.”
