Safety checks must be carried out on a more regular basis

Bob Graham, Fire Safety Expert

In the French resort of Tignes, an emergency exercise was conducted with a simulated fire in the lowest station. Passengers were able to escape through an escape tunnel half way up.

The resort said that the exercise had been a success.

Inadequate fire extinguishers

However, travelling up on the first train after the service reopened, it was clear that all was not well.

Only two fire extinguishers were readily available and neither had instructions with them - the rest were in locked cabinets.

Though the authorities had promised two guards to deal with any problems, there was just one on duty. The only emergency exits were at the front and rear of the train.

Fire safety expert Bob Graham, from the Alliance for Consumer Fire Safety in Europe, said that any fire in a tunnel is catastrophic, because the tunnel acts like a chimney, fanning any flames.

"Safety checks must be carried out on a more regular basis, and it is vital to put out the blaze before it gets going," said Mr Graham.

Some tourists now prefer to use ski lifts

Bernard Genevray, the director of the Tignes lift company, assured BBC News Online that the problems would be sorted out.

"We will put up instructions soon and from next week there will always be two guards on the train," he said.

Holidaymakers' fears

Many British skiers in the resort feel it is wrong to run the trains until the cause of the Kaprun disaster is fully investigated.

Kevin Balmer said: "I feel very strongly that the train should not run until we are sure about what happened at Kaprun - something started the fire and we need to know what."

Two other French resorts have funicular trains - Val D'Isere and Les Deux Alps. Both have conducted safety tests and pronounced that everything is safe and well.

In Switzerland, Zermatt and Saas Fee both have funiculars. Saas Fee boasts the Metro Alpin, the highest funicular in the world, and the resort says extensive tests have been carried out to make sure it is safe.

In the world famous resort of Zermatt, extra fire extinguishers have been put in all the carriages.

The problem for all the resorts is that until now, the funiculars have had a very good safety record with no major accidents.

More people died in Kaprun than in the Concorde crash

Elaine Bunyon, British skier

Many of the tunnels were built only slightly wider than the trains that run in them, so it is useless to put any exits on the sides of trains, as no one would be able to get out anyway.

It is also considered too expensive to build emergency tunnels similar to the one in the Channel Tunnel, which is used for service vehicles and also as an exit in the event of fire.

British skier Elaine Bunyon, from Mountain Masters Ski School in Val D'Isere, says she will not take the train any more.

Instead, she prefers to take a nearby chair-lift to the top of the mountain.

"More people died in Kaprun than in the Concorde crash," she said. "I don't think they should run until all the safety systems have been properly examined".

The full report into the Kaprun disaster is not expected to be published until January or February next year.