All change for the summit, as Cairn Gorm passengers allowed to top

Published on Tuesday 6 July 2010 18:38

PASSENGERS on Britain's highest mountain railway are to be allowed direct access to the summit of Cairn Gorm for the first time since the Cairngorm funicular railway was opened ten years ago.

• Passengers on the funicular railway are to be allowed to venture from the top station to the summit for the first time. Picture: PA

Since the funicular opened in 2000, visitors using it to reach the Ptarmigan Top Station have been banned from venturing onto the plateau, instead having to remain within the station building or the panoramic viewing terrace.

But, in a radical change in policy, CairnGorm Mountain Ltd (CML) has been granted permission by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Highland Council to allow funicular passengers to leave the station to take a short guided walk to the summit of Cairn Gorm as part of a closely monitored three-month trial.

The walks, which will last about 90 minutes, will lead visitors on a circular tour to the summit and back in groups of not more than ten, avoiding the special flora, fauna, and habitats of the Cairngorm plateau, which are protected by European legislation.

The funicular cuts about an hour and ten minutes from the full walk to the top of Britain's sixth highest peak.

Ian Whitaker, chief executive of CML, said: "CairnGorm Mountain welcomes the opportunity to manage trial visitor walks from the Ptarmigan Top Station this summer. The trial walks will be carefully managed and monitored in accordance with the agreed operating procedure and all data will be subject to review by SNH and the Highland Council at the end of the trial period.

"For the first time, we can allow visitors to immerse themselves in a wild mountain experience by using the mountain railway and taking part in the trial. Visitors to the summit will be able to view the Cairngorm plateau, the most extensive area over 3,000ft in the British Isles and experience the impact of weather and climate at this altitude."

He added: "On a busy summer day CML will welcome 1,000 visitors per day on the mountain railway.

"The trial allows for a maximum peak capacity of 140 people per day taking part in a walk at the top. As well as keeping a record of the numbers who book a walk, CML will also record the numbers we have not been able to accommodate but who wish to undertake the activity. The trial will provide useful data on the demand for this activity, which will guide decisions on any long-term changes to the visitor management plan in future."

Keith Duncan the area manager for SNH, said the scheme would not result in an access free-for-all to the summit of the iconic peak. "The guided walks won't enter the European site and will be strictly managed," he said.

"It won't result in significant additional numbers of visitors venturing onto the plateau. It is a three-month trial.

There are significant weather issues up on Cairn Gorm so it is not going to potentially be an opportunity (the railway company] will want to offer in the middle of winter, for example.

"For the huge numbers that are going up now on the funicular to go out willy nilly on to the plateau is not likely to happen. But we would consider any system that was manageable and did not affect the European site."

A Highland Council spokeswoman said: "The council is allowing this trial and awaits the outcomes of the monitoring arrangement with interest, which is a requirement of the legal agreement and visitor management plan with CairnGorm Mountain Ltd."

Following an invitation-only trial launch 14 July, the first public walk will take place on Saturday 17 July.

The guided vavwalks will cost 13 for adults, 12 for seniors and 10 for children.

Funicular 'was pushed through'

FOUR months ago the Scottish Parliament's public audit committee published a highly critical report on the role of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in the controversial Cairngorm funicular project.

The MSPs claimed the agency was determined to push through the railway project at any cost and without properly regarding the risk to the public purse. The railway opened nearly 5 million over budget. Funding to date is 12m more than originally expected. And aother 4m is planned to be spent on the facility.

The audit committee's damning report followed a previous critical report last year from Robert Black, the Auditor General for Scotland, who said HIE had ignored financial risks during the planning of the railway.

HIE subsidised the building of the funicular, but in 2008 had to step in to take over the operators, CairnGorm Mountain Ltd (CML), which had debts of more than 400,000.

The committee said HIE failed properly to evaluate a number of significant risks, including the viability of CML and the possibility of a decline in skier numbers, at the outset of the project.

Additional risks emerged after the project was approved, but, said the committee, HIE's failure to review and adjust the business case before construction began in 1999 reflected "bad practice and was unacceptable".

The cost of building the funicular was put at 14.87m in 1997, but this rose to 19.5m. With other support provided to CML since 2001, the total cost was 26.8m, of which 23m came from the public sector.z