Annual maintenance and remediation work confirmed for Cairngorm funicular railway

The funicular is due to be out of service from Monday 12 May until Monday 2 June 2025 while the company’s in-house engineering team carries out works including rail grinding, gearbox repairs, undercarriage lubrication, and testing and inspection of the rail welds.

At the same time, Balfour Beatty, working on behalf of estate owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), will return to complete their programme of remediation works on the railway viaduct.

CMSL usually carries out annual maintenance on the funicular in November, but has brought the timescale forward this year to run in parallel with the remediation programme and minimise inconvenience to visitors.

There will still be plenty of family-friendly activity on offer at the resort, which remains open seven days a week while the railway is unavailable.

The newest attraction of ball runs will be open every day. Tubing slide sessions and the ‘Jumping Pillow’ in the adventure playpark are available at weekends. Upper mountain bike trails are now complete and the full bike park will be open daily, weather permitting, from Monday 12 May.

The Base Station and Day Lodge facilities, including the Cairngorm Café and Mountain Shop, will also be open every day from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Bookings for the funicular are now open from Monday 2 June through to the end of October. In the coming weeks, CMSL will share updates on plans for summer activities, including mountain carting and guided summit walks.

The funicular was out of service from August 2023 until 27 February this year, returning after inspections confirmed that all essential work to ensure safe operations had been completed.

At that time, estate owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) explained that contractors would be back to finish the remediation programme in late spring or early summer, which is usually a less busy time of year for visitors.

The remaining works will deal with non-urgent matters that will benefit the long-term durability of the structure, which is over a mile in length.

Examples include fine-tuning some joint assemblies to improve performance and minimise the risk of corrosion over time, as well as fitting tapes and caps to extend the working life of metal bars that would otherwise be exposed to the weather.

The pace of progress on the mountain will depend on a range of factors, not least weather, and Balfour Beatty intend to take advantage of seasonal daylight by working beyond 5 pm.

It is expected that some evening work will continue for a period after the funicular service has resumed.