Cairngorm funicular reopens after lengthy closure

The funicular's owners hope it can return to normal service

The UK's highest railway has returned to service following an extensive programme of work.

The Cairngorm funicular near Aviemore, was closed for four years from September 2018 due to structural issues with the track.

It was reopened to the public in January 2023 following £25m of repairs before it was closed again in August that year due to snagging issues.

Owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said the remediation work had been completed.

The public agency said, weather conditions permitting, the 1.2-mile (2km) funicular railway would now run a regular service throughout the day, seven days a week.

The facility near Aviemore is operated by Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL).

Interim chief executive Tim Hurst said: "We recognise how critical the railway is, not only to our entire team here at CMSL, but to all our customers and to many businesses in the local and regional area.

"We would like to thank all our visitors for their patience whilst remediation took place."

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 - the UK's sixth highest mountain.

Repairs and strengthening work started in April 2021 following the railway's closure in late 2018.

But the Covid pandemic, a shortage of materials and bad weather led to the rising cost of the work, delaying 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.

The latest work has been ongoing since the summer of 2023.

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