Cairngorm funicular: A head above heights challenge

A halt in the tracks

The Cairngorm Mountain Railway is a two-kilometre-long funicular that ascends the northern slopes of Cairn Gorm, the United Kingdom's seventh-highest mountain, which serves the Cairngorm Mountain resort. Situated within the largest national nature reserve in Britain, it is an area of outstanding beauty and regularly pulls in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, including snowsports enthusiasts.

A unique component in Scotland’s tourism offering, the funicular came into operation in 2001, providing year-round access to the upper reaches of Cairn Gorm, with stunning views for visitors from its cable operated railcar assembly. In 2018 however, the railway closed its operations after safety concerns, following an investigation carried out by civil and structural technical advisor to the project, COWI.

Work to get the railway operational again was imperative but was met with several delays throughout the pandemic. Appointed by Perfect Circle via the SCAPE Consultancy Framework, we were brought on board to deliver multi-disciplinary services
to the funicular, comprising project management, quantity surveying, health and safety and technical assurance.

Terrain navigation

At heights up to 3,500ft, the project presented numerous challenges for our health and safety experts. At Pick Everard, we are used to designing solutions that meet specific client needs, but the funicular was entirely unique in its structural makeup and location, requiring an innovative approach to service delivery.

From the outset, accessibility was the main obstacle for our health and safety professionals. At this level of terrain, and with environmental preservation in mind, getting our teams and equipment to the onsite location was a huge difficulty in its own respect. A singular roadway, suitable only for 4x4 vehicles, was initially utilised to access the work area, with strict speed limits and signage in place to ensure visitors were aware of passing construction vehicles. Later in the project, a temporary track was constructed for easier access to the lower half of the mountain.

Scotland has in place the “Freedom to Roam”, as such members of the public often utilise varying routes across the mountain. It was therefore imperative to not restrict access to the mountain but ensure the public’s safety from the construction works.

We worked closely with principal contractor Balfour Beatty and resort operator Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Limited (CMSL) to agree vehicular routes and appropriate signage to help guide tourists and hill walkers. This was closely monitored by project teams, as it was not feasible within the landscape to install traditional hoarding. Local steps were taken where specific risks arose, such as deep excavations.

In navigating the higher areas of the structure, various options were considered but helicopters were deemed the only available means of safe material delivery, and had to take into account design lifting, loading and the required flight planning, whilst Balfour Beatty also had to remain vigilant against drone use and walkers – and even one paraglider – who risked crossing flight paths.

Helicopter use was also highly beneficial for the concrete deliveries and pouring, which helped to minimise environmental risks and vehicular travel. Here, Balfour Beatty devised a temporary chute solution to complete the operation. This also protected the cables and equipment that remained in place.

Each operation was checked regularly by an NEC supervisor and reviewed within project meetings supporting the safety case for final sign off.

Temporary measures

A key health and safety concern raised by our team was the requirement of temporary protection measures to be installed, particularly as there was no built-in fall protection offered by the funicular to safeguard workers. Scaffolding and walkways were set up, allowing contracted teams to complete their tasks safely on the concrete supports.

Some of these activities required heavy technical lifts of the structure to fit new bearings. The lifting and temporary arrangements were developed by Balfour Beatty’s temporary works team and reviewed by Perfect Circle’s technical and health and safety team, with high risk events, such as a potential collapse due to structural instability, expertly mitigated

On a project such as this, traversing the mountain without a designated walkway is a hugely physically demanding process. Despite these challenges, the implementation of a scaffold staircase adjacent to the structure was a huge success, reducing the risk of slips and falls and making it easier for operatives to navigate their way around the railway track.

Stakeholder Support

Pick Everard was also closely involved in supporting decisions and risk management between stakeholders on this project. As CMSL operate the funicular, their knowledge and that of other specialists was extremely important to several design decisions, as well as understanding and mitigating the unique risks. One aspect of this was to introduce a walkway to the structure in support of ongoing access and maintenance, improving the current arrangement. Pick Everard supported here in reviewing the maintenance requirements with CMSL and design proposals aiding in a design solution.

During the second phase of the project, which involved upgrading the railway control system, we again worked closely with CMSL and suppliers Garaventa. Similar to before, large equipment was required at the Ptarmigan top station, where we worked with the two firms to develop plans and implement arrangements using their knowledge of the cable car installation. This was also important in order to supportCMSL in their role as principal contractor for the works and coordinate this with other projects on site. Through regular attendance, we were able to support CMSL in delivering a successful project that saw the railway service relaunched to huge acclaim in January 2023.

A return to service

With the funicular now operational once more, everyone at Pick Everard is hugely proud of the cross-collaborative effort delivered by our multi-disciplinary teams.

The funicular is a once in a lifetime project to work on, with vital professional skills central to remediating and strengthening the structure. Helping reinstate its operation has been uniquely challenging from both a design and environmental perspective, however thanks to close working relationship between Highlands and Islands Enterprise, CMSL, COWI, Pick Everard and the project team, more families can now enjoy the wonders of Cairn Gorm.