WATCH: The Eagle is nearly ready for take off at Cairngorm Mountain
The Eagle will land sometime hopefully very soon, Cairngom Mountain has said.
Chief executive Susan Smith told the Strathy yesterday: “We are eagerly awaiting authorisation from the UK transport minister and as soon as we receive this customers can once again enjoy the delights of the funicular.”
Tuesday’s visitors were excited to see some test runs on the track of the mountain railway in its new mountain hare and eagle livery.
However, yesterday’s snowsports hopefuls were left initially frustrated as the resort’s gates were closed for the morning after a hefty dump of snow overnight.
At lunchtime Ms Smith was able to tell the Strathy: “The gates are now open, thankfully – 15 centimetres of snow fell at the base this morning which resulted in us having to close the road as cars were getting into difficulty.”
The trains are still going through the final stages of safety critical training, she confirmed.
“They are not running today because we are undertaking evacuation training with all the carriage attendants and drivers.”
The funicular was closed down in September 2018 on safety grounds because of cracks in some of the concrete support piers in the viaduct which carries the two kilometres of track.
Resort owners Highlands and Island Enterprise are hopeful that the mountain railway will be available to the public soon.
They confirmed they are currently waiting on UK transport secretary Mark Harper’s signature on the safety certificates.
A spokesman said: “The Department for Transport haven’t given us a date, but all paperwork was delivered before Christmas.”
“Officials have recommended approval and we’re hopeful it won’t be long now.”
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A DoT spokeswoman said earlier in the week: “Officials have said there is no further update at this time but we will keep the Strathy posted.”
The final repair bill for one of Scotland’s most complex and challenging civil engineering projects is expected to be in the region of £25 million – nearly £9 million more than first estimated.
