Expert engineer claims ‘not one element’ of Cairngorm funicular was built to required standard
An expert engineer who oversaw the building of the Skye Bridge believes that ‘not one element’ of the Cairngorm funicular was built to the required standard.
John Carson spoke out for the first time last month, listing his concerns over the mountain railway and its imminent return.
He believes that the decision to switch from the proposed steel solution to concrete for the 1.7km viaduct - which has been the cause of the closure for nearly all of the past six years - was to the ‘irrevocable detriment’ of the project.
Owners Highlands and Islands Enterprise have said the mountain railway should resume operation either before the end of this year or early 2025 after repairs amounting to around £25m.
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Mr Carson said: “The Skye Bridge took 10 years of my life.
“I came up with the idea of a bridge crossing and lobbied the then Scottish Office who turned it into a competition to design, build and fund the project.
“I arranged the finance and found the German joint venture partners.
“I represented the consortium at the public inquiry and was managing director of the joint venture who built it, and ran the concession company.
“The Skye Bridge won many awards, has stood for 30 years, and is functional, with minimum maintenance and free of major faults.
“It stands to the ability of Scots to design and build world class structures.”
Mr Carson said he had been closely monitoring the funicular’s situation for more than a year now.
He said: “The question I would ask is ‘Why are local interest groups not speaking out about the state of the funicular and its constant failings?’.
“The answer is that most of them are dependent on HIE for their funding.
“They could have their funding switched off at the whims of HIE.
“Since my last statement, I have read reports in detail including the last HIE Business Case.
“The many reports by COWI - who investigated what needed fixed when the railway broke down - confirm my initial observations about the funicular.
“That there is not one of the element on the project that was built to the required standard.
“The foundation, the beams, the cast in-situ joints, the bearings, and the anchor blocks are all not to the standard required for safe operation.
“These reports confirm the fact HIE have owned and run this railway for the last 23 years in an unsafe condition.
“The choice of the five scenarios in HIE's business case deliberately did not include replacing the main concrete beams with steel.
“This alternative would have achieved the original design requirement for the £25 million spent to date.
“The initial decision to switch from the proposed steel solution was of irrevocable detriment to the project.
“The project was very badly built, and the current remedial solution completed in late 2022 was found wanting.
“COWI UK has used their engineering expertise to produce a solution that breaks one of the major adages I was taught as a young engineer: "If it looks right, then it is right".
“This result is a lasting scar on the landscape that will serve as a monument to the incompetence of HIE.
“The current solution with its 20,000 plus nuts and 5,000 plus threaded bars, all of which are individually safety critical, is a disgrace and a national embarrassment.
“Now that the scaffolding is being removed, the funicular is a danger to skiers, maintenance workers and wild animals, and its inevitable huge maintenance cost dictates that this can only be a very temporary solution.
“If the railway is to open as promised, certain events have to happen.
“Balfour Beatty need to finish the works, and need to provide certification that all of the many components have been installed and correctly tensioned.
“Sequs, who oversee the safety case, have an unenviable task of checking this information and reorganising the independent third-party design check by Mott MacDonald.
“LECS UK - an engineering consultancy firm - needs to inspect the project and certify that it is to the design and construction requirements before they can recommend the UK Department of Transport to issue a certificate of use.
“Scotland is a beautiful place. Our shipbuilders and engineers lead the world. Scottish engineers of the past will be turning in their graves."
An HIE spokesperson said that there would be rigorous safety checks before the mountain railway resumed operation.
He said: “Safety has always been our top priority, as demonstrated by the immediate decision we took to withdraw the funicular from service in August 2023 as soon as tensioning issues were identified.
“The current remediation works are close to finishing and we’re looking forward to seeing the funicular back in action.
“The reinstatement programme that got underway in 2020 was designed by COWI, peer-reviewed by Mott Macdonald and delivered by Balfour Beatty.
“Each one of these companies is an award-winner with decades of experience and an international reputation for excellence.
“As everyone would expect, rigorous testing and mechanical safety checks will be carried out before passengers are again welcomed on board.”
