The eerie 1.4 mile UK train tunnel that will never be open to the public again

It has been decided that an old UK railway tunnel will not be opened to the public, despite campaigners’ wanting to retain its use for walkers and cyclists.

Closed in 1956, Queensbury Tunnel was part of the railway line linking Bradford and Halifax. It also had a branch in Keighley.

It was built by the Great Northern Railway and, at 2,287 m in length, was the longest on the firm’s network when it opened in 1878.

Campaigners have recently wanted to reopen the route. The BBC reports that National Highways, its owner, started filling the tunnel with gravel in 2021 to prevent it from collapsing.

The Queensbury Tunnel Society says on its website: “The proposed abandonment of the tunnel by its custodian, National Highways’ Historical Railways Estate (HRE), could cost £ 10 million. The funds will come from us, the taxpayer.

“However this presents a once-only opportunity to repair a structure which could form the centrepiece of an iconic cycle network connecting Halifax to Bradford and Keighley.”

It adds: “Our sustainable vision is to make the tunnel pay its way – investing those public funds to deliver health, environmental, social and economic benefits for many decades to come. ‘Value for money’ is something we all have a vested interest in.

“Time is of the essence. If the tunnel is not secured before HRE starts its substantive abandonment works, the opportunity will be lost forever. There is no going back.

But now, Bradford Council has said that even though it was “supportive of restoring the tunnel in principle”, the authority was not likely to be able to provide the cash required for more work.

Instead, officials said they would focus on other active travel projects.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, told the BBC: “We know Queensbury Tunnel really captured people’s imagination on what might be possible, and we successfully secured funding from the last government to explore what it might cost to restore the tunnel as part of a wider active travel network.

“Sadly, it’s not proved possible to access all parts of the tunnel as parts of it are still flooded, but even with the information we do have, we know the costs as they stand would be prohibitive.

“We’re still supportive in principle but we have to focus on what we can affordably and realistically deliver, and we’re already making great strides on the wider active travel network between Bradford, Keighley and Queensbury.”