HIE saves Cairngorm's struggling railway
Headlines in various newspappers last week have led to a conclusion to the struggling Cairngorm railway
The facility mooted to boost visitors was reportedly close to receivership
IT WAS hailed as a facility to take the Scottish ski tourism industry into a new era. But last week Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) had to step in to halt the Cairngorm funicular's threatened slide into receivership.
Less than seven years after its launch, supporters have blamed the twin threats of global warming and the credit crunch, but the railway's struggles also pose serious questions about tourism in the Highlands.
Created as part of a strategy of opening up Cairngorm - Scotland's fifth-highest mountain - as an all-year-round facility, the funicular has never been able to shake off its original burden of debt. Its most recent accounts show that, while it now has an annual turnover of just over £3 million, its debt still stands at more than £5m.
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