Agency secures £11m settlement over Cairngorm funicular

A Scottish government agency has received a total of £11m in out-of-court settlements relating to the Cairngorm funicular.

Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) had taken legal action over the original design and construction of the mountain railway near Aviemore.

HIE, which owns the funicular, had also been pursuing a payment from a former operator of the facility.

The UK's highest railway reopened in January after four years out of action.

It had been shut down because of structural problems.

HIE had been pursuing legal action in the Court of Session against construction company Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd and designer AF Cruden Associates Ltd over work done in the 1990s and early 2000s.

It had also sought payment relating to guarantees issued by Natural Assets Investments Ltd, the parent company of CairnGorm Mountain Ltd (CML), which had operated the funicular on HIE's behalf.

HIE chief executive Stuart Black said the agency was pleased to have reached a settlement.

The railway was built at a cost of £19.5m and was opened in 2001. It connects a base station with a restaurant and a ski area 1,097m (3,599ft) up Cairn Gorm mountain.

The funicular was closed to the public in September 2018 and the Scottish government provided £16m towards the £25m cost of fixing it.