Another Protest in the Strath! This time over the on-going saga of the funicular.

My inititial research was done over 20 years ago and many people rightly ask me what has changed. Its seems when it comes to the funicular the answer is: not a lot! Cairngorm Mountains Railway has been plagued with difficulties since the beginning. See this article from the local paper:

April 18th

“It has certainly been a busy week at Cairngorm Mountain and it could get even busier.

First of all we were contacted at the end of last week by local ski school worker Mike Marcus who is planning a demonstration over Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s management of the ski resort.

Mr Marcus told us amongst other things: “It seems absolutely absurd to me that HIE is throwing good money after bad. HIE has lost all trust locally…

“It only takes a few determined people to get the ball rolling.”

So just as we were working on that article then a press release drops in from HIE saying that efforts to return the Cairngorm funicular to operation are being stepped up with contrators Balfour Beatty deploying more manpower on site.

The public agency also hinted that there was no immediate solution in sight by declaring that they are working to a return date for the mountain railway of next winter.

At this point Highlands regional MSP Edward Mountain then interjected with a renewed call for a public inquiry into what has happened at Cairngorm Mountain.

He said: “A public inquiry into this mess has never been more essential.

“Despite the appointment of contractors, we still don’t know when the railway will reopen, how much it’s going to cost, or how it is all going to be paid for.”

And next up will be the demonstation itself which is planned for the Coire Cas car park next Wednesday from 6.30pm. Mr Marcus has delivered hundreds of flyers in and around Aviemore in recent days to get the message out there as well as engaging the Strathy.

So that’s the next thing funicular wise we think we will be reporting on – but who knows for sure when the mountain railway is involved. The only certainty is that there are no guarantees.”

Mr Marcus’s comments reflect very much what I found out from my research- ordinary local people, even those working in the ski industry, have serious reservations about the funicular and are wondering why it has been so badly managed. In addition, why is HIE putting so much money into the hands of companies to keep it going without a serious review and consultation.

Is this a case for considering community ownership?