kidman123
Member
Is this railway up and running again or is it still out of action if so how long for
Fresh doubt surrounds the future of a top Highland visitor attraction after Scotland’s public spending watchdog warned “tough decisions” on repairs to Cairngorm’s crisis-hit funicular are likely to be needed soon.
Auditor General Caroline Gardner’s warning came as she announced a new in-depth probe into Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s (HIE) handling of the mountain railway’s closure and other problems at Scotland’s second-largest winter sports resort.
Ms Gardner said that with the cost of repairing the funicular, owned by HIE, still unknown a year after it was taken out of service on safety grounds, questions remain over how it can be afforded.
She added that the impact of the repair costs on the “financial sustainability” of the north’s Scottish Government-funded development agency was also unclear.
Balfour Beatty has won a contract worth just over £20.5m for work at Cairn Gorm including the reinstatement of Scotland’s only funicular railway.
more than £16m of the work, which is funded by the Scottish government and Highlands & Islands Enterprise will be used to support reinstatement of the funicular railway and bring it back into service during winter 2021-22. The decision to reinstate the funicular was taken following a detailed options appraisal that also considered replacing it with alternative uplift infrastructure, or removing it entirely.
Initial work to strengthen the 2km structure, which has been out of action since 2018, is expected to start later this month
Utter disgrace. Should never have been permitted in the first place. It's a mountain, not a tourist attraction. Should've been pulled up and returned to nature.
Do you also think the same of the Snowdon Mountain Railway?
That's two mountains in the whole of the UK with trains up the side. However many hundred or thousand without. Just pick a different one!
Have you ever been to the top of Snowdon?Snowdon is different for obvious reasons. That was built for quarrying.
Cairngorm was built solely to commercialise a mountain which thousands of walkers enjoy
Snowdon is different for obvious reasons. That was built for quarrying.
I would love if there had been more of them like in Switzerland. Ben Lomond would have been a good one, from Rowardennan or Inversnaid connecting with paddle steamers just like Lake Lucerne. What a superb tourist asset that would be now! The Swiss and indeed all the alpine continentals seem to manage to please both factions why can't we?
That said the Cairngorm railway is particularly ugly due to the bare nature of the mountain - perhaps we need a vast tree planting campaign?
I like fell walking, I like cycling more. Perhaps cycleable routes could be made on selected Bheinns
I would love if there had been more of them like in Switzerland. Ben Lomond would have been a good one, from Rowardennan or Inversnaid connecting with paddle steamers just like Lake Lucerne. What a superb tourist asset that would be now! The Swiss and indeed all the alpine continentals seem to manage to please both factions why can't we?
Not a big ski expert however I seem to recall from distant memories of "Ski Sunday" that trees and skiing are not entirely incompatible!Um, the bare nature of the mountain is why it's used as a winter sports area. Plant trees and you take that away.
Even the slalom tends to avoid trees, having fake obstacles in the form of coloured posts. I suppose it depends on your view of what makes 'exciting' TV viewing. Just like Formula One. A procession of cars going 'whine' or the occasional prang!Not a big ski expert however I seem to recall from distant memories of "Ski Sunday" that trees and skiing are not entirely incompatible!
As for the railway thing, given the lack of snow nowadays, relying on winter sports must be a seriously flawed business case.
Semiserious, +1
Excess power could be used/stored in other ways
In many recent summers, patches of snow have lasted through the summer on a few peaks in Scotland, some dedicated people monitored them. A good way to discover quite 'remote' corners
I went to a winter sports resort in British Columbia in June a few years ago, and in the summer months many of the ski runs are used for people to ride bikes down. People can load their bikes onto the ski lift on the way up.As for the railway thing, given the lack of snow nowadays, relying on winter sports must be a seriously flawed business case.
I went to a winter sports resort in British Columbia in June a few years ago, and in the summer months many of the ski runs are used for people to ride bikes down. People can load their bikes onto the ski lift on the way up.
Cairngorm has special status to protect the rare plants - hence the justification for the funicular in the first place to keep people off the ground. OK in winter when covered in snow and for a limited number of footpaths, otherwise they want people to keep off. Construction materials were dropped by helicopter when building the funicular to avoid the need for tracks for heavy construction vehicles.Same all over the world, including Scotland. There are several mountain bike runs from the ski centre at Aonach Mor for example (near Fort William). Not sure whether the same applies at Cairn Gorm, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Cairngorm has special status to protect the rare plants - hence the justification for the funicular in the first place to keep people off the ground. OK in winter when covered in snow and for a limited number of footpaths, otherwise they want people to keep off. Construction materials were dropped by helicopter when building the funicular to avoid the need for tracks for heavy construction vehicles.
Semiserious, +1
Excess power could be used/stored in other ways
In many recent summers, patches of snow have lasted through the summer on a few peaks in Scotland, some dedicated people monitored them. A good way to discover quite 'remote' corners
Same all over the world, including Scotland. There are several mountain bike runs from the ski centre at Aonach Mor for example (near Fort William). Not sure whether the same applies at Cairn Gorm, but I wouldn’t be surprised.