Hikes are great for your health, but sometimes you want the views without the fuss. That’s what the Cairngorm Mountain Railway, a funicular train which scales the UK’s sixth tallest mountain so you didn’t have to, was built to provide – until, that is, it shut for repair works in 2018. Since then (save for a few months in 2023 when it briefly reopened, then shut again) it has been out of order, with no end point in sight.
How did all of this start? Well, with some basic – but essential – maintenance. The funicular’s railway tracks, which were built in 2001, were in need of some TLC after years of being battered by the harsh Highland weather and general wear-and-tear. That’s pretty routine, so how did it turn into a seven-year-long, £25 million hiatus?
As with so many things in Britain in recent years, the short answer is pandemic delays and the weather. A spokesperson for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which owns the funicular, told the BBC that it had hoped to get the railway back up and running late last year, but cold and windy conditions made for treacherous conditions and work could not be completed.
David Oxley, director of strategic projects at HIE, said; ‘We're now going through that final inspection and making sure everything is safe and ready for return to service for the funicular.’
Despite that, there is still no date, even provisionally, to put in your diary, and the local economy is now struggling from a lack of transport. The train takes passengers 2km up the mountain to a restaurant and ski area, so its absence has made it harder for potential customers to access the hilltop services.
Although no opening date has been given, last week (on Thursday Feb 6) footage was released of the funicular taking a successful test run, which caused ‘a buzz’, according to a local businessperson.
A spokesperson has also said that the HIE will ‘provide an update later in the week with our progress’, adding that ‘HIE continues to aim for the funicular to be safely back in service as soon as possible within the current winter season and will provide a firm date for relaunch once this can be confirmed.’
Let’s hope that this is a sign that the people of Aviemore will have their terrain-busting train back sooner rather than later.
Train travel with Time Out
Loco for locomotives? In other recent news from our railways, the longest train route in Britain is getting cancelled, Britain’s busiest train line is getting £3.8 billion of repairs, British rail passengers are getting a new government-backed website selling train tickets, and Rail fares and railcard prices are increasing massively in England this year.
Did you see that the UK’s longest direct train route is being cancelled?
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.