No opening date as funicular repairs near end

HIE One of the funicular's cars heads uphill along rails laid on the mountainside. It is called Hare and its name is on the side of the vehicle, which is different shapes of blue. There are clouds in the sky.HIE
The funicular has been affected by structural issues

Long-running repairs to the UK's highest railway have reached the final stages but its owner is not yet ready to confirm a date for reopening.

The Cairngorm funicular near Aviemore, was closed for four years from September 2018 due to structural issues with the track.

It was reopened to the public in January 2023 following £25m of repairs before it was closed again in August that year due to snagging issues.

Owners, public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), had hoped to have it running again late last year but said bad weather had caused delays.

Opened in 2001 at a cost of £19.5m, the railway connects a base station with a restaurant and a ski area 1,097m (3,599ft) up Cairn Gorm - the UK's sixth highest mountain.

David Oxley, director of strategic projects at HIE, said the agency recognised how important the funicular was to the local economy.

He said high winds, snow and ice had hampered efforts to carry out the last of the work to allow the railway to be reopened.

Mr Oxley told BBC Scotland News: "The contractor Balfour Beatty has largely finished most of those works pre-Christmas.

"We're now going through that final inspection and making sure everything is safe and ready for return to service for the funicular."

He said the latest work would cost more than previously estimated and discussions would be held with its contractors about who has responsibility for those additional costs.

Scottish Conservative MSP Edward Mountain said he was worried the extra money needed would come from taxpayers.

He added: "Businesses across Badenoch and Strathspey are struggling because the funicular railway is closed and they are losing bookings.

"HIE is not competently managing Cairn Gorm mountain."

Mr Mountain said a public inquiry should be held into the handling of the funicular.

Repairs and strengthening work started in April 2021 following the railway's closure in late 2018.

But the Covid pandemic, a shortage of materials and bad weather led to the rising cost of the work, delaying an earlier reopening.

The complex civil engineering project involved thousands of lifts by helicopter to deliver 800 tonnes of concrete to the site. Bearings and other components were also replaced.

Engineers had to avoid causing damage to deep peat, and boulders removed to allow access to the railway were put back in place with their lichen-covered surfaces the right way up.

The latest work has been ongoing since the summer of 2023.

Before it was closed, the funicular's operators estimated that it carried about 300,000 visitors each year.

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