'Cairngorm funicular repair costs could blight the Cairngorms' claim

The head of Ski Scotland has warned that repairing the UK's highest railway has become such a cash "black hole" that it could blight the country's other winter sports resorts.

The Cairngorm funicular, which has been taken out of service because of safety fears, is now set to be out for even longer than first planned.

It only returned after a near five-year lay off in January last year.

Owners Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) had hoped it would be back in service before the end of September.

Now it says there is no timescale yet for reopening the attraction following its latest problems.

Andy Meldrum, chair of Ski Scotland, said with hindsight the millions could have been better spent and fears it could affect the industry's wider appeals for help.

"The idea was well intentioned but a variety of things went wrong in the early stages they could have known would later emerge," said Mr Meldrum, who is also managing director of Glencoe Mountain, the country's oldest ski resort.

"They could have spent the money more sensibly like putting in a new gondola that would have also overcome the problem of when the road is shut by snow.

"But we are now trying to fix something that is unfixable - it's just a black hole.

"The worry is that it will blight other projects when public money is sought for other investment by the resorts. The money spent on the funicular has not brought the improvements desired. If some of that money had been spent by the other resorts it would have brought more improvements to the industry generally.

"We all need more support. At Glencoe we have had around 6000 skiers and borders so far this season - half last year's total at the same point. We have had double the number of sledgers than skiers. It is the same story for other resorts.

"It has been a struggle this year - it has not been the worst season, but certainly not the best. We have had the upper and lower slopes open - the middle has been the problem, so intermediate skiers have been the most effected.

"We are making more money from sledging and the chairlift than from skiers. Man made snow has helped a lot, however. We are hopeful of keeping the natural snow we have and have some skiing at Easter.

"I have been in the industry for over 40 years and Scottish skiing has always been like that. It is finely balanced.

"That's the way it goes. We have previously been waist deep in snow in May at Glencoe.

"Cairngorm has had the best of the conditions, but without the train they can't access the upper slopes."

Other Scottish resorts are also offering limited runs - most on man made snow.

Cairngorm Mountain is moving to a five day week operation.

They have said the decision has been taken for several reasons, including the Funicular continuing to be out of operation and a lack of natural snow.

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 mountain.

HIE said the latest issues with the funicular were complex, and involved checks to thousands of metal rods in the railway structure.

Dave Macleod, head of property and infrastructure, said: "We cannot give a timescale at the moment.

"It is a really challenging project.

"Every focus is on getting up and running as soon as possible, but it's a complex project."

He added: "We are talking as soon as possible. We are not talking years, but probably months rather than weeks."

Mr Macleod said the situation was disappointing and did mean continuing costs to HIE.

Conservative MSP Edward Mountain has called for a public inquiry into how the £25m repairs were handled.

The Scottish government provided £16m towards that cost of fixing the railway.

A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the importance of the funicular and the Scottish government is working with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to ensure it is back up and running as quickly as possible.

“The current programme of works has proven more technically challenging and complex than had been expected.

"The project team also had to contend with severe weather conditions and below-freezing temperatures on the mountain."

The funicular takes skiers, boarders, mountain bikers and hikers to the upper slopes of Cairn Gorm mountain.

In 2019, the estimated cost of the repairs were £10m.

HIE said at the time it was cheaper to fix the funicular than dismantle it.

In 2021, mountaineer and author Cameron McNeish, who opposed the plans for the funicular before it was opened in 2001, said the railway should be "stripped" from the mountainside and the area allowed to go back to the wild.

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

Last August, HIE received a total of £11m in out-of-court settlements relating to the Cairngorm funicular.

HIE had been pursuing legal action in the Court of Session against construction company Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd and designer AF Cruden Associates Ltd over work carried out in the 1990s and early 2000s.

It had also sought payment relating to guarantees issued by Natural Assets Investments Ltd, the parent company of CairnGorm Mountain Ltd (CML), which had operated the funicular on HIE's behalf.

Snowsports centres are critical to Scotland’s rural economy, worth an estimated £30m and providing over 600 jobs in some of the most remote areas.

It is estimated that for every £1 spent on the Scottish slopes, a further £4 is spent in the surrounding areas.

In 2010, Cairngorm Mountain remained open until June for the first time with hundreds of skiers trekking to the snow.

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