Cairngorm funicular

Total cost �14.8m Nearly 2kms long Climbs 453 metres Each carriage carries 120 people in winter, 48 in summer Due to open for 2001 ski season

The Cairngorm Chairlift Company said it apologised for any inconvenience to customers but that it would not be operating its lifts until early December.

A spokesman said that while the contractors were supposed to stop working at the end of October, they had carried on to take advantage of the good weather.

He added that the ski season proper did not begin until about mid-December and anyone planning visits in the near future should phone first.

The �14.8m funicular railway, which is due to open in the winter of 2001, is designed to cement and increase Cairngorm's reputation as a major tourist attraction.

The chairlift is closed until December

But since the project was announced it has been dogged by controversy.

Mountaineers and environmentalists have objected to its impact on the surrounding area, while serious doubt has been cast on projected visitor numbers.

More recently, safety concerns were raised after a fire in a funicular at Kaprun in Austria claimed 157 lives.

When complete, the Cairngorm funicular will be almost two kilometres long, climbing to a height of 453 metres.

Two carriages will each carry 120 passengers in winter and 48 during the summer.