Cairngorm gets set to welcome return of mountain railway

Contractor Balfour Beatty has confirmed that, weather permitting, its current programme of remediation works on the viaduct that supports the railway is due to finish in the next week to 10 days, after which teams working for the company plan to demobilise from the mountainside.

The focus will then shift to a series of important follow-up actions that have to be carried out before the funicular can carry passengers again. These include mechanical safety inspections and testing, trial runs and staff training.

This will, unfortunately, mean the funicular will not be back in service for the official launch of Cairngorm Mountain’s 2024/25 winter season, Friday 20 December, as had been hoped.

However, it does appear that the long wait for the service to resume and enable visitors to access the ski area quickly and easily by rail again will soon be over.

The funicular was withdrawn from service in August 2023 when an inspection found that tension in some ‘scarf joints’ that link beams with 94 piers along the 1.8km length of the viaduct was below the recommended level.

Retensioning these joints – and ensuring that tension is maintained – has been a core element of the remediation programme, which has been led by Balfour Beatty under contract from Cairngorm Estate owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Tension in beams and diaphragms that are essential for load distribution has also been carefully examined and adjusted as required, and associated grouting has been carried out on the piers.

Return to service will mark the end of a difficult few years for HIE and its subsidiary Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd, which operates the resort.

The funicular, which opened in December 2001 and became a key visitor attraction in Strathspey and Badenoch, was initially withdrawn in October 2018, after an inspection raised safety concerns.

Following a detailed options appraisal, HIE appointed COWI to design and Balfour Beatty to undertake an extensive programme of strengthening works,  which got underway in November 2020.

The funicular returned in January 2023 to much acclaim from visitors to the mountain resort, but was withdrawn again seven months later when the scarf joint issue was identified.