Mountain railway reopens after four-year shutdown

The UK's highest railway is to reopen to the public on Thursday - four years after structural problems shut it down.

The Cairngorm funicular, near Aviemore, had been closed since September 2018.

The Scottish government provided £16m towards the £25m cost of fixing the railway, owned by public body Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

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 mountain.

Repairs and strengthening work started in April 2021 but the Covid pandemic, a shortage of materials and bad weather led to rising costs of the work, and delayed 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.

Tests on the railway and a safety certificate from the UK Department of Transport were required before it could be made available to the public.

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

Susan Smith, chief executive of Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd, said it was an important economic driver.

She said: "It employs local people and and if Cairngorm is busy then hotels, restaurants, transport and shops are busy.

"It is an iconic hook to get people into the area."

Dave Macleod, of HIE, said new investment had also been made in the Cairngorm Mountain resort, including improvements to its restaurant and car park. He said HIE was also working with other organisations on habitat restoration.

Ken Brown, of engineering firm Balfour Beatty, said dozens of workers with different skills did a "fantastic job" in a challenging environment.

He said winds in October gusted to 106mph, and when it was not windy the engineers had to contend with swarms of biting midges.

In 2019, the estimated cost of the repairs were £10m.

HIE said at the time it was cheaper to fix the funicular than dismantle it.

Removing or fixing the railway is complicated because it will have to be done in a way that minimises impact on Cairn Gorm mountain - a 1,245m (4,084ft) Munro and one of Scotland's best known summits.

During the construction of the railway, a helicopter was used to deliver building materials to the mountainside.

There has been criticism of the repairs.

In 2021, mountaineer and author Cameron McNeish, who opposed the plans for the funicular before it was opened in 2001, said the railway should be "stripped" from the mountainside and the area allowed to go back to the wild.