The UK’s highest train line has reopened, and passengers can expect ‘breathtaking’ views from more than 1,000 metres above sea level.
After years of closure, the beloved Cairngorm funicular is back in action.
Located on the Cairngorm mountain in the Scottish Highlands, the 2km cable railway line ascends 1,097 metres above sea level to connect visitors to a ski area and Ptarmigan Top Station.
There, visitors will find the UK’s highest restaurant, a gin bar and an outdoor viewing terrace that overlooks the scenery of Cairngorms National Park.
A single carriage takes visitors to the spot, with the entire trip taking between five minutes and eight minutes.
The railway, which opened in 2001, was shut for repair works in 2018, and (aside from a few months in 2023 when it briefly reopened), it has been closed ever since.
However, having since undergone an ‘extensive programme of remediation works’ all safety matters were resolved.
And now, as of February 27, it’s back in service.
The Ptarmigan Station is set to open in stages, with the restaurant and bar initially serving homemade soup, sandwiches and drinks.
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Over the coming weeks, the menu will be expanded, and the gift shop and exhibition will reopen.
The service, located near Aviemore, is operated by Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL).
Tickets for the train don’t come cheap though: an adult return ticket costs £22, according to its website.
Interim CEO of CMSL Tim Hurst said: ‘The Cairngorm Mountain team are overjoyed to be welcoming customers onto the funicular railway once more.
‘Following confirmation from our parent company, Highlands and Island Enterprise, the railway will now be handed over to us at CMSL to operate once more.
‘We recognise how critical the railway is, not only to our entire team here at CMS but to all our customers and to the many businesses in the local and regional area.
‘We would like to thank all our visitors for their patience whilst remediation took place.’
Those who have taken the Cairngorm funicular have fond memories.
One Tripadvisor reviewer described it as ‘eight minutes of breathtaking ascent’ back in 2015, adding: ‘Views amazing. The staff at the summit were really welcoming and informative. The purest air. Magical.’
Another, from 2023, said the views looking down from the funicular are ‘stunning’.
They wrote: ‘There was mist and low cloud obscuring the mountains when we arrived. We watched this roll off the tops and down into the valleys while on the funicular. By the time we reached the top, the valleys were clear. It was an amazing sight.’
A third person who reviewed their trip to Cairngorm mountain added: ‘What a treat… The funicular railway was well organised. It was quite pricey but well worth it.’
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