Cairngorm funicular work pauses for winter as snow season set to start

Work on the Cairngorm funicular railway has been paused for winter.

Workers are currently demobilising the site and are scheduled to return next spring.

Owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) previously confirmed it would be out of action during the winter months due to delays to repair work, the Covid pandemic and blizzards earlier in the year.

The funicular opened in 2001 but has been closed since September 2018 due to safety concerns over the structures supporting the tracks, with the previous owners entering administration shortly afterwards.

A £20m funding injection from the Scottish Government was awarded in October last year with the intention of reopening the railway in 2021, with £16m allocated for repairs.

The opening date has since been pushed back to the second half of 2022.

Teams from contractor Balfour Beatty have been working since April to strengthen the 1.8km viaduct that supports the railway.

They have completed a programme to install new concrete jackets and props on 59 of the 94 piers that support the funicular viaduct, and have carefully restored ground that had to be dug out or disturbed.

The next phase of the reinstatement programme is due to start in April 2022. It will focus on completing bearing replacements at all 94 piers and beam strengthening.

Despite the funicular shutdown, the mountain resort will remain open – with snowboarders and skiers able to access the slopes by tows that will operate when the weather allows.

The season is due to begin next Friday, though may open earlier if natural snowfall continues in the coming days.

James Palmer, HIE’s Cairngorm project manager, said: “From an engineering perspective, the funicular reinstatement is an enormously complex project.

“Essentially, the sub-structure is a linked series of 94 small bridges, each one built to a different height and running up the side of a mountain.

“Then, on top of that, you have a solid platform to support the rails and all the moving parts that are essential to ensure safe operations.

“When you consider all the challenges involved during 2021, the progress achieved by Balfour Beatty has been impressive.

“During the winter, we’ll continue to be busy behind the scenes so that when work resumes on site next spring, we can move at pace to carry out the remainder of the project and get the funicular back up and running again.

“In the meantime, we wish our colleagues and all visitors to Cairngorm Mountain a very active and happy winter season for snowsports.”