The reopening of the Cairngorm funicular railway has been delayed due to ongoing works being “more difficult and time consuming” than expected.
The Cairngorm Mountain Resort railway was pulled from service in August for “snagging works” to be carried out on the 1.2-mile long line.
The attraction – which was due to open in September – will now reopen in November and bosses insist “every effort” will be made to ensure it is operational for the 2023/24 snow sports season.
A spokesperson for Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which owns Cairngorm Estate, said: “Achieving resolution of the tensioning issue has proven more difficult and time-consuming than we had anticipated at the outset. At the same time, though, there can be no short cuts when passenger safety is concerned.
“We apologise to Cairngorm visitors for having to withdraw the service while these works are carried out.
“We are now looking forward to completing the project during November when the operators of Cairngorm Mountain will also be carrying out their annual maintenance programme.
“Every effort will be made to reintroduce the service in good time for the start of the 2023/24 snow sports season at Cairngorm.”
HIE added that technical challenges were being exacerbated by the mountain geography which makes access difficult, and the weather which has been prone to “sudden and dramatic change”.
Repeated repairs in recent months
The closure in August came just months after the railway reopened in January after years of repairs.
It had been shut down in 2018 following safety concerns before undergoing a £25million refurbishment.
HIE awarded £11 million settlement
The railway owners won £11 million in compensation back in August over flaws in the funicular’s construction, after filing a case against the three bodies responsible for building it.
The lawsuit came after previous operators CairnGorm Mountain Ltd (CML) were forced to withdraw its services between the base station and the Ptarmigan Building at the top of the slopes following safety concerns.
HIE pursued construction company Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd and designer AF Cruden Associates Ltd, as well as Natural Assets Investments Ltd (Nail), the parent company of CML.
Cairngorm Mountain remains open to visitors.
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