Issued on behalf of CairnGorm Mountain Ltd - 23rd December 2001

Tourism in the Scottish Highlands received a massive pre-Christmas present today (23rd) when the £15 million Cairngorm funicular made its inaugural run with 60 guests, including local residents from the Badenoch & Strathspey, many of whom have been involved in skiing at Cairngorm for several decades. With snow falling to create a totally seasonal setting on Cairngorm mountain, the UK's first high-speed funicular railway, a high-tech replacement for the 40-year old chairlift, expects to be carrying its first fare-paying passengers from early tomorrow afternoon (Christmas Eve).

Exactly forty years to the day - 23rd December, 1961 - when the first White Lady chairlift was launched at Cairngorm, the first two passengers aboard the new Cairngorm funicular had firm links with the previous chairlift. Georgie Crook from Inverness, then a four-year old, had been the first passenger on the original chairlift in 1961, along with her brother, David McIntyre, and "Plumb" Warrel, from Aviemore, was the final passenger on the chairlift prior to its de-commissioning on 18th April 2001

On what was an emotional day for many who had come along to mark the 40th anniversary of skiing at Cairngorm, Hamish Swan, Chairman of CairnGorm Mountain Ltd., paid tribute to those early visionaries of the Sixties describing them in the words of late US Senator Robert Kennedy as people with "the vision to see things that never were and ask 'Why not?'"

Continued Hamish Swan: " That same question - Why not?" - along with many others, has been asked time and time again over these several years as we have successfully overcome the various obstacles and hurdles placed in our path. Every time the answer has been found to have had the highest environmental, economic and legal integrity."

"At the same time, this new funicular has also been a catalyst in bringing different interests together to deliver a whole package of benefits to the local community and to achieve a genuine balance between recreational, environmental and economic land use within a sensitive area."

"The lessons that we have learned from this scheme should become a template for other parts where differing and diverse interests and points of view have to live together in harmony for the greater benefit of the entire community."

Recognising what clearly had been a team effort, particularly in getting the funicular railway ready in time to meet with HMRI's approval to run with passengers, Hamish Swan paid tribute to his own team, some of whom have been involved with the project since its earliest days.

Said Mr Swan: "Everyone involved at CairnGorm Mountain Ltd., and its predecessor the Cairngorm Chairlift Company, should be very proud to have delivered this first phase of the project on time and against what often appeared to be formidable odds. Throughout it all, they carried the belief that someday it would all be in place, had the confidence and commitment to try to make it happen as quickly as possible, and possessed the tenacity and drive required to see it up and running in time for Christmas."

Said a delighted Bob Kinnaird, Chief Executive of CairnGorm Mountain Ltd: "This is a historic day for everyone involved in the project and we can now get on with the job of operating the railway for the benefit of tourism across the Scottish Highlands. We took nothing for granted at any stage and the decision to allow us to carry passengers demonstrates that we have complied with every regulation."

"What is not immediately evident, but will become so as the project develops, matures and is carefully managed, is the manner in which we have also complied with regulations and standards imposed by others, such as Scottish Natural Heritage and all of the other environmental bodies that have kept a watchful eye on us throughout. SNH has declared itself well satisfied with what had been achieved."

"We have introduced some of the most comprehensive environmental management schemes ever seen and our monitoring systems cover all forms of wildlife, plants, climatolgy, geology and geomorphology as much as paying attention to the impact of man and the related recreational uses of a mountain environment."

Continued Mr Kinnaird: "We are up and running but the project is far from finished. Even operating the funicular railway will see minor changes evolving and we will have a running-in period over the next few months before we can run at full speed and capacity. During this time, it is inevitable that adjustments will be made and there may even be the odd time when we close the system down for a couple of hours to make adjustments under operational conditions."

"However, the most important fact is that, in partnership with many others, some Scots, some Swiss, we have delivered a high quality product on time, within budget and to the high standard expected and given tourism across the Highlands, and particularly within Monarch Country, the best possible Christmas present."

Highlands and Islands Enterprise chairman Jim Hunter said: "I am genuinely delighted that the funicular railway, for which we've been waiting for so long, is now up and running and poised to make a significant contribution to the tourist economy, not only of Badenoch and Strathspey, but to Scotland as a whole. I am confident it will prove to be a key attraction for the area attracting many visitors - not only snow-sports enthusiasts in the months ahead, but the general public through the rest of the year. "

HIE chief executive Sandy Cumming said: "This is tremendously important day for Badenoch and Strathspey - the area can now look forward to the economic boost the funicular will bring. The original timetable was always to have the railway running for the winter season this year - and achieving that goal is a remarkable achievement considering the scale and complexity of the project and the challenging conditions in which the work has been carried out. I would like to pay a tribute here to the people who have brought this about."

Getting ready for an expected massive influx of visitors over the next few days, Tania Adams, the company's sales and marketing director, said: "Interest in what we are doing has been building up steadily over the past few months and this will be a popular outing for visitors over the festive season. However, it has to be remembered that the funicular is only one part of the CairnGorm Mountain Experience, the rest of which is not due to be completed until next spring. Unless skiing is possible, there is very little to see at the top but people may wish to come along and enjoy the experience of riding in the UK's only high-speed funicular. After so many procedural delays over the years, who can blame them?"

Ticket prices for the new Cairngorm funicular are very much in line with those for other major visitor attractions across Scotland with adult tickets costing £ 7.50 and tickets for children (16 and under) costing £ 5. There will also be concession tickets at £ 6.50 for senior citizens and students along with a family ticket costing £ 25.00 being valid for two adults and two children with a third child travelling free.

Further information from:

BILL NOLAN

Tel: 07885 071804

Facts and figures about the Cairngorm funicular

• The track is 1,950m long (of which 247m in tunnel)
• There are 93 support columns, made from an Irish aggregate to match Cairngorm granite
• The highest column is 4m
• There are 184 beams spanning the columns, each weighing 8 tons
• Each carriage will hold 120 skiers and snowboarders in the winter - initially 80 during the running-in period
• They will hold 48 seated in the summer (with the capacity to take a further 30 standing if required).
• It is one of the widest funiculars in the world, with a 2m gauge and 3.2m wide carriages
• The carriages are 10.5m long and each weighs 15 tonnes
• The funicular is safe to run in winds up to 85 mph, well above 25 - 30 mph which closed the chairlift
• Steepest point on the track is 22 degrees during a vertical climb of 460 metres.
• Top speed: 10 mps (36km/h)
• The drive is via two electric motors housed at the top in the Ptarmigan building
• With a full carriage travelling down, the funicular has the potential to generate approx 500Kw of electricity per trip which can be exported into the national grid
• Normal braking will operate through two service (disc) brakes housed at the top
• Each carriage additionally has three sets of track brakes, two on the upper bogey, one on the lower bogey
• 65 new jobs and retain a further 40.
• The project is worth a total of £14.8m, which includes £2.7m from the European Regional Development Fund. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is contributing £12.1m in addition to the £2.7m from ERDF.