Situated in the 1,748 square miles of the UK’s largest national park, the Cairngorm Funicular Railway has been collecting skiers from the base station and transporting them up the mountain range to the ski slopes, at over 1000 feet above sea level, making this the highest railway in the UK. Originally built in 2001 the railway was closed in September 2018, due to health and safety and structural concerns. A £16 million refurbishment programme of works to strengthen the structure commenced in 2020. Millar Callaghan were delighted to have been awarded the contract to fabricate and install, not only the strengthening steelwork, but also a new maintenance walkway that would run the full length of the 1700-metre track.
Prior to fabricating any new steelwork, a full detailed survey of the full structure was conducted by our site engineers. Once detailed fabrication drawings had been produced, and approved by the client, our Irvine workshop went into full production, fabricating all the new steelwork. On completion of fabrication, all new components were shotblasted and galvanised, to ensure they could withstand the extreme weather conditions they would be exposed to on the mountain.
Access at the lower sections of the mountain was challenging and a selection of 4-wheel drive and caterpillar tracked vehicles were required to transport new steel sections to the work area. The higher sections of the mountain were inaccessible by road vehicles, therefore all steelwork and materials for this area had to be transported by helicopter.
Due to the exposure and extreme weather conditions, that are unavoidable when working in the Scottish Highlands, a regimented programme of works was critical. This allowed each trade involved in the strengthening works to coordinate site activities and maximise the weather windows available, utilise helicopter flights and carry out the strengthening works.
On completion of the strengthening works and inspection, the funicular railway is scheduled to return to transporting skiers up the mountain for the 2023 winter season.
