On 19/02/2019 I applied to Highlands and Islands Enterprise, under a Freedom of Information request, for the ADAC Structures report into the Condition of the Funicular Railway from November 2015, (see here – 6.5MB file). I subsequently received this on May Bank holiday Monday, 06/05/2019, at 09.31. This was five days after the Big Breakfast organized by HIE with regard to Cairngorm Mountain and the future. Cynics may suggest that the timing was arranged so that its contents would not be available in time for the Q. & A. session held at the Breakfast.
Campaigners thought initially that the problems occurring with the Funicular outlined in the ADAC Structures report of Jan 2017 had only become apparent by the survey which formed the basis of that report. However that is not the case.
In the Executive Summary of the 2015 report, para.2.1, it stated:
“In broad terms the writer was concerned with the general condition of the Funicular Railway given its relative young age.”
When the engineer first commented about the condition of the Funicular, it had not reached its 14th anniversary, which was just over 1/3rd of its expected lifespan.
2015 report Para.2.3 :
“There is particular concern around the insitu concrete linking the precast concrete beams over the piers. There is concern that this may not be working effectively…”
Fast forward to Jan. 2017, para.2.1 ”in broad terms etc.”, and para. 2.4 ”There is concern that there is a project wide problem with the beams….”
2015 report para.4.8.4
“There is a partial walkway along the length of the railway for inspection and maintenance. It would appear that the components to complete the walkway are on site and lying on the ground. It would make inspection and maintenance work significantly safer and easier if this walkway was completed. There are a number of loose retaining clips on this walkway. These should be secured as they present a trip hazard. IT IS MY RECOMMENDATION THAT THIS WORK IS CARRIED OUT”.
Fast forward to Jan 2017 para.5.8.3 word for word the exact same recommendation.
As far back as November 2015 ADAC Structures was reporting major structural and health and safety problems with the Funicular and yet HIE employees, including the then Head of Infrastructure Mr K. Bryers, who had copies of these reports, apparently did nothing to make their tenant, “Natural Retreats”, comply with the maintenance terms of the lease.
If you read my last post on the Funicular (see here) you will see that Charlotte Wright, Chief Executive Officer of HIE, said that the full COWI report (into the current problems) would be released within TWELVE weeks of 07/03/2019. Well that should have been on 30/05/2019, so 15 weeks later and all we have had from HIE is excuses as to why it has not been released. HIE are fully aware of the magnitude of the problem, as are some of the staff at the Highland Council and Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd. (Bill Lobban, local councillor and Convener of Highland Council was appointed a Director of CMSL in January 2019).
I am now going to stick my head above the parapet and make a prediction.
When HIE said that the COWI report was being delayed by poor weather, a few people, including myself, were of the opinion that the Funicular would not run for either the winter of 2018/19, summer of 2019 or even possibly the winter of 2019/20. My opinion now, in light of what is not being said by HIE, is that if it is repairable it will not even be operational for the 2020/2021 ski season, or, if it has to be removed and new uplift installed who knows how long that will take! Remember the SE Group report into new infrastructure for Cairn Gorm was for a timescale of 1 to 5 years for phase 1 i.e. 2023/24, and 5 to 10 years for phase 2 i.e. 2028/29. I sincerely hope that I am wrong in these conclusions.
The implications for everyone in Aviemore and the surrounding area are disastrous, e.g. tumbling house prices, unemployment increasing, businesses failing etc. It also means that the public confidence in the ski area will also take so much longer to return. The only people not affected by the Funicular closure are HIE and the staff at CMSL whose wages are taxpayer funded.
What should happen now?
HIE need to come clean with a timescale of when they expect work to start on the funicular or its replacement sooner rather than later.
Residents and businesses in Strathspey also need to come together to form a new group to work on a new vision for the area, without reliance on the mountain business, promoting what IS available and attractive about the area, and there is so much. The involvement of any member of the Funicular Response Group should also be avoided as they are far too controlled by HIE. At the very least, advertising in national press, e.g. The People’s Friend etc., and maybe even tv adverts are necessary, all of which HIE should pay for considering this disaster is of their making, after all they have given the A&GCT £90k.
There is now a new group formed in Grantown-on-Spey, The Campaign for a Better Cairngorm [subject of forthcoming post, ed] who may provide an opportunity to do this and will hopefully help to put pressure on HIE to speed things up.
We have all waited long enough.
So : HIE / Cairngorm likely knew the funicular was in a bad condition when decision was made to suddenly rip the Coire na Ciste chairs out in summer 2017 ?
Doug, that’s an excellent point and another reason why the Scottish Parliament needs to investigate HIE’s mismanagement, Nick
In the face of overwhelming evidence of HIE’s incompetence, the CabSec with responsibility for HIE, Fergus Ewing MSP continues to fail to convene a parliamentary committee of enquiry.
There isn’t a shadow of a doubt that HIE are fully culpable for the disaster on CairnGorm. They completely failed to ensure that their tenant adhered to the term of their lease in respect of maintenance: to the Funicular, to buildings, to uplift and to the carparks. Everything that wasn’t being done was fully publicised by parkswatch and yet HIE did nothing about it.
It is also very clear that when the severity of Funicular problems became clear the only action taken by HIE was to rush to demolish the Ciste Chairlifts without ever bothering to establish the costs of refurbishment. That was a breathtaking act of self harm that has now cost the hill business and the Strathspey economy millions of pounds.
We’re now in a situation where the same HIE people who are responsible for this disaster are now haplessly managing the hill business. While that continues, there is no hope for the future.
With this clear photo to show what has gone wrong with just one flexible support, it seems obvious the design engineers failed to assess the loadings correctly. Fluctuations in ambient temperature and vibrations from the system while in use have caused each segment to ‘concertina’ , compress any flexible expansion joints further down the mountain and gradually slide off down the hill.
The type of flexible support pictured is seen everywhere on horizontal bridge structures such as motorway bridges. It should have been mounted to an upper wedge or into a notch on the girder. To prevent sheer forces dislodging it these items have to be loaded vertically ?
The issue now becomes to identify who ever signed off this engineering ‘on the cheap’ ( !) The potential “tobogganing”issue should have been foreseen long before the design was ever accepted for construction.
Is it feasible for something of this scale to be lifted back up the hill and restored to its correct load points or would it now be cheaper to demolish it and get the Swiss or Germans to design something more appropriate from scratch ?
There is another possibility and that is that due to the nature of the ground, alterations to water courses by the various activities of vehicles etc the whole structure is literally getting washed down the hill: i.e.the support pillars are falling over! I had a picture of a digger which was either being used to dig at the base of a pillar or to create a new drainage trough to divert water away from the funicular! Until HIE release the COWI report that was supposed to be concluded last december this is just guesswork.
Yet another exposure of HIE’s incompetence and failure to protect taxpayers’ funds….and still everything is kept secret and Fergus Ewing continues to do nothing except, it would appear, be complicit in the attempts to cover up HIE’s failings.
I note what you say, Graham, about the potential effect on the Strath’s economy of the continued closure of the funicular, however as an accommodation provider and with my contacts in the tourism industry, I do not come across any economic problems for the tourism industry caused by the closure of the funicular. There are so many other things for visitors to do in the area. I would encourage Cairngorms Business Partnership to conduct an objective survey of the local industry to assess issues due to the closure of the funicular. There may be a few isolated problems (e.g. those employed by CMSL), but as you say, Graham, the people of the Strath need to come together to develop a new, practical vision for the future of Cairngorm which reflects what visitors to the area want and expect, and not the fanciful ideas favoured by HIE. Campaign of a Better Cairngorm can be a focus for us all to get real and stop wasting public money on a massive scale. I recommend we all get behind this initiative and try to influence the authorities to really consult the local people and businesses.
All this retrospective analysis is great fun but of limited value….
If there is a vision of the future created (certainly not based on skiing) with some principals of operation (zero carbon for example) then a case can be made to develop what can exist on the site.
How it can make money, employ people and have a future…….then that’s something we can focus on…
Let’s got looking forward…..
You are correct, Angus, we need to look to the future and viable ways to enjoy Cairn Gorm. I believe the point of looking at what has gone wrong is to learn from the mistakes. The problem is that HIE seem incapable of learning from the numerous and very expensive mistakes they have made over the years. Their vision, after having squandered in excess of £25M of taxpayers’ money, is to repair the funicular (at a cost likely to be in excess of £10M) and then spend £25M or more on an adventure playground. This is just crazy – if the public money is available there are so many viable projects to support and grow the local economy that will only need a fraction of the £35M.
This is one of the reasons that Campaign for a Better Cairngorm has been launched.
It is a really shocking to see the serious problems on this structure, and to learn (fully, when the COWI report is released) of further failures and serious maintenance issues.
I speak as a structural designer, having been employed in UK construction for over 40 years. It seems to me, having been following this for a while, that there is a “possibility” that the original engineering design concept was seriously flawed ? No design can be constructed without separate design checks, so others checking the original design would also have ‘passed’ the same flawed design ? When i say ‘flawed’, i would question the design length of the main longitudinal concrete beams spanning between the piers. Photographic records of the beams and the end bearings, show evidence of cracking and subsequent repair work. One would have to question whether there was sufficient ‘deflection’ allowed for in the design of the longitudinal beams ? A solution to limit deflection would be to make the long beams shorter, but that would have required a greater number of support piers ? Other factors affecting thing could be the extreme environmental exposure of the cast-insitu and pre-cast concrete elements, and going on from there, the maintenance of the structure over time ?
David, I hope this finds you in good health in this rather odd year. It’s only been just over a year since you commented on my post and on 04/12/2020 HIE finally released the 311 page COWI report. If you are still interested it is available on the HIE website. I would be interested in your thoughts on it. Graham.
David, I have an appeal with the Information Commissioner for the ADAC Structures and the Ancon Bearings reports which is currently being considered. HIE were supposed to release the COWI report in May and yet we are still waiting. As soon as I have anything new I will forward it to you if that is ok? I am also waiting for an FOI request for the approximate cost to demolish the Funicular, 15 days to go for that one!