Cairngorm railway is Scotland’s latest infrastructure farce

Initially it carried 200,000 passengers a year but the railway shut for safety reasons in 2018. Its then operator, Cairngorm Mountain, also fell into administration.

The bill for repairs soared from £16 million to £25 million with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the economic development agency, stepping in to run the railway, ski tows and associated facilities.

The funicular reopened in January last year but closed again in August for “snagging”.

Another re-opening has been steadily put back and an update last week suggested it could be December before the railway runs again.

There was also no guidance on the cost of work with “multiple teams” from contractor Balfour Beatty checking the joints that link the horizontal beams and vertical piers, which were installed as part of repairs in 2020-22. Tension in the set-up had been found to have fallen below the required standard.

Sir Edward Mountain, the Scottish Conservative MSP, said he had been kept in the dark but he estimated costs would hit £45 million.

“We are at the stage of doing this extra work to the joints and HIE has given me no idea what the cost for those works are going to be,” he said. “There is so much that we don’t know and that is making life for businesses in Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey impossible to budget for.”

Craig Mills, chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership, said the railway had a vital role in attracting visitors. “It is really important to the whole community it is there and running. I think everybody is disappointed that it is not,” he said.

Sir Edward Mountain believes repair costs will hit £45 million

ALAMY

“We all want it back but at the same time we are saying to members they cannot be reliant on something which is outwith their control. We have to try to diversify to give customers a different offering.”

Some fear that remedial work will simply paper over the cracks of a flawed design.

Nick Kempe, who writes the Parkswatchscotland blog, said no one had properly explained why the railway was ever deemed unsafe.

“The fact the repairs have been going on and on and on suggests they got it very wrong to begin with,” he said. “The whole business case of repairing the funicular was based on a lot of financial assumptions and its contribution to the economy of Speyside but it has been contributing nothing for many years.

The Edinburgh tram project overran financially and was years late

ALAMY

“To allow this to go on without ever establishing whether these repairs have a chance of success seems like absolute madness. It should be clear to everyone now that the money which has been spent on the funicular could have been much better spent elsewhere. We are extremely sceptical, even if it does reopen, as to whether it will last for any significant period.”

A 2016 engineering report by Adac Structures described the condition of the railway as “poor for a structure of this age with widespread minor deficiencies giving a general impression of poor quality control during the construction phase”.

HIE took legal action against Morrison Construction, the original builder that is now part of Galliford Try, AF Cruden Associates, the designer, and Natural Assets Investments, which had operated the funicular and other facilities in 2014-18.

An out of court settlement was reached in August with HIE receiving £11 million.

A report in 2019 prepared by Bam Infrastructure Advisory and Cowi indicated the cost of dismantling the railway could reach £13.3 million.

Mountain has previously called for a public inquiry and believes “a forensic examination of costs” is needed. He would also like HIE to relinquish control and said: “I don’t think HIE are competent in running this resort, they do not have the skillset. We need somebody in there to do it properly.”

HIE pointed out that the operator is its subsidiary Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland), which has its own management team.

Audit Scotland, the spending watchdog, said it would closely examine the effect of the funicular as part of its annual audit of HIE. It said: “We will be looking at the governance arrangements in place to reinstate the Cairngorm funicular railway. The audit will also consider the potential financial impact of the work on the funicular.”

Kempe wants a wider discussion about the mountain but said there was “actually no real solution to the overall problem of what to do with Cairn Gorm. There is no point in chucking more good money after bad.”

Repair teams aim to complete the work “as soon as possible” and updates on timings will be made soon, HIE said.

“Remedial works are being undertaken at no cost to the taxpayer. The final outturn will be determined following completion of the project,” it added. “As landowner and economic development agency, our short-term goal is to bring back the funicular. In the medium-term there is a need to ensure the stability and sustainability of the operating company. Once that is achieved, there will be an opportunity to consider longer-term options again.”