Halifax - Keighley cycle route through tunnel?

[whole diary]

[Trowres]

A campaign to use the long-disused Queensbury Tunnel for a cycle route, instead of permanently sealing it.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/01/new-push-to-make-englands-longest-cycle-tunnel-a-reality

[froome]

A campaign to use the long-disused Queensbury Tunnel for a cycle route, instead of permanently sealing it.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/01/new-push-to-make-englands-longest-cycle-tunnel-a-reality

Excellent.

The campaign to get the Two Tunnels path open in Bath went on for at least 10 years, and having finally succeeded, has been a great success in getting people out and about walking, running and cycling. Removing both a huge hill and busy traffic does really open up scope for people to cycle journeys they would never have attempted before (in the case of the Two Tunnels these are mainly leisure journeys along with a few commuters).

There was much concern about having such a long tunnel on a cycle route before it went ahead (I wasn't convinced myself that it would attract people to use it, especially if any incident had occurred just once inside it) but having the integrated music within it has been very successful, and as the article states, the tunnel itself has become a visitor attraction.

[CyclingSid]

There is a petition, if anybody has connections with the area: tiny.cc/queensburytunnel

[CyclingSid]

Looks like the ball could be passed to the Local Authority
https://news.sky.com/story/campaigners-say-deal-close-to-turn-queensbury-railway-line-into-uks-longest-cycle-tunnel-11197070

[Richard Fairhurst]

Looks promising, but I hope the importance of getting good connecting routes either side isn't forgotten. One of the reasons the Two Tunnels in Bath work so well is that they link to the river/canal path on one side and the old railway path on the other, so you can do a 12-mile, almost entirely traffic-free circuit. As it stands the Queensbury Tunnel wouldn't really go anywhere, though there are fragments of a railway path here and there. Completing a through route to Halifax, at the very least, ought to be a priority.

[froome]

Looks promising, but I hope the importance of getting good connecting routes either side isn't forgotten. One of the reasons the Two Tunnels in Bath work so well is that they link to the river/canal path on one side and the old railway path on the other, so you can do a 12-mile, almost entirely traffic-free circuit. As it stands the Queensbury Tunnel wouldn't really go anywhere, though there are fragments of a railway path here and there. Completing a through route to Halifax, at the very least, ought to be a priority.

Yes obviously true, but even getting a route out into the countryside is valuable. There are many people in Bath who walk or cycle through the two tunnels just to get to Midford to stop at the pub or walk around there. I don't know the Queensbury area but some of the urban Pennine valleys have some stunning landscape which would be an attraction in itself.

[grahame]

It seems there is a difference of opinion between the campaigners and Highways England who are the tunnel's custodians - see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-44901081

I can understand the campaigners being enthusiastic and wanting to cast the most positive possible light and budget on the project to reopen the tunnel to cyclists and walkers, and in contrast Highways England wanting to be shot of the darned thing so casting it as negative as possible and looking for a final solution.   I wonder where the balanced truth lies!

[Red Squirrel]

I seem to remember that the safety argument was used by those who opposed the Two Tunnels scheme in Bath...

[grahame]

I seem to remember that the safety argument was used by those who opposed the Two Tunnels scheme in Bath...

I was surprised and delighted that the Bath scheme was able to overcome all these concerns.   A very useful precedent too - to show it can be done - although local conditions may differ. 

[eXPassenger]

If you are looking for other examples the Shute Shelve tunnel in Winscombe on the Strawberry Line is part of the cycleway.

[grahame]

Came across a video too.



There are many canal tunnels open for general public use in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) too - wonderful experiences all that I have done.   I do look forward to doing Standedge and the full length of Dudley should an opportunity arise.   Others such as Blisworth illustrate the hard work - and in some cases massive expense that's kept them open. No two alike ... I contrast Netherton and Froghall.

[grahame]

This story has rambled (or cycled!) on ... and although it's not in our part of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), I suspect it has some resonance -  national bodies that come across with a faint whiff of overstepping what they're supposed to be able to do.  Taking measures which, perhaps, are attractive to them as convenient opportunities to put a significant (perhaps project-killing) hurdle in the way or projects which fit into the "not invented by us" category.

From the Telegraph and Argus

In the latest twist, Bradford Council has announced planning rules may have been breached by the Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)).

A council engineer was sent to the tunnel to make an emergency assessment of its condition.

It follows a recent development when the DfT, which owns the site, began emergency measures to stabilise an air shaft in the face of its “increasingly deteriorating condition” caused by an influx of water.

The work has thrown the reopening of the tunnel into doubt, with Highways England – which looks after the structure on behalf of the DfT – admitting the safety procedures will make it “more challenging” to bring it back into use.

Campaigners are pressing for the 1.4-mile-long tunnel to be reopened to form the centrepiece of a cycle path network connecting Halifax to Bradford and Keighley and have been fighting moves by Highways England to fill in the Victorian structure.

They claim the emergency measures go too far and do not need to be implemented.

Now council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe has asked Secretary of State Grant Shapps to urgently intervene in what the council believes are unauthorised actions.

[CyclingSid]

Maybe we should be more interested in what Highways England do (or don't do) as they took over the duties of the British Rail Residuary Body and responsibility of "former" railway property and structures.

It does seem that somebody somewhere might not be keen on allowing another Two Tunnels Way, which in some ways set the precedent.

[grahame]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvv9zq4nywo

Campaigners calling for a disused railway tunnel to be brought back into use say its reopening would be a way of honouring those who built it 150 years ago.

Work to construct the Queensbury Tunnel, which links Bradford and Halifax in West Yorkshire, began on 21 May 1874.

Norah McWilliam, of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said it was now "time to end the uncertainty" over its future.

The society wants the 1.4-mile (2.25km) route to become a traffic-free "greenway" for walkers and cyclists.

The railway line closed in 1956, with the tunnel owned by the Department for Transport.

It is maintained on its behalf by National Highways' Historical Railways Estate, which has been approached for comment.

[CyclingSid]

I am never sure whether it is better not to rattle National Highways' Historical Railways Estate's cage, as their normal response is to either fill it with concrete or demolish it (depending on the type of structure).