Railway tunnel due to reopen after fire

A 200-year-old railway tunnel is set to reopen on Thursday after a fire closed the 3.5-mile (5.6km) passageway that runs beneath the Pennines.

Railway services between Leeds and Manchester have been disrupted since Sunday when a maintenance vehicle in the middle of Standedge Tunnel caught fire due to a mechanical fault.

Four tunnels run under Pule Hill, from Marsden to Diggle, including three railway routes - one of which is still in use - and a canal tunnel.

Gordon McMinn, from the Canals and River's Trust, said Standedge had been built to transport goods during the "big canal boom" of the 1800s.

"The Huddersfield Canal Company wanted to move their goods through the hills and so the easiest way would be to go straight through the hill as opposed to trying to go up and over, which would have meant a lot of lock gates to try to get over the hill.

"Unfortunately it took a bit longer than expected, so they started in 1794 and 17 years later they came out the other end and the canal tunnel was built," he said.

Standedge is Britain's longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel and is 636ft below ground.

Today, visitors can paddle through the tunnel on fully guided trips, said McMinn.

"It's a completely operational tunnel and boating customers who are wanting to travel along Huddersfield Narrow Canal can book their passage through the tunnel and then our staff and volunteers help out by chaperoning the private boats," he said.

"For those who don't have narrow boats and want to experience the tunnel we offer a variety of ways of going into the tunnel."

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the reopening of the canal tunnel after Huddersfield Narrow Canal fell into disrepair in the 20th Century.

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