Constructed 1848 | Rebuilt 1965 | |
 | ||
Location Kidsgrove, Staffs, England Length 3 old tunnels totaled over 1 ⁄4 mi (2.0 km)
1965 tunnel 220 yd (200 m) | ||
The Harecastle railway tunnels are two railway tunnels on the North Staffordshire Railway at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire. They have been disused since 1965 as their size made them unsuitable for electrification. In early 2013 they were put up for sale.
Originally bored in 1848, there were three tunnels on the line between Tunstall and Kidsgrove; North, Middle and South Tunnels. When the West Coast Main line was electrified in the 1960s, although the North tunnel was opened out, the South and Middle tunnels were unsuitable for electrification. This resulted in the line being diverted to the west, with a new tunnel being bored on this diversion. The diversion started about 300 meters south of Kidsgrove railway station, and rejoined the original line just to the west of Tunstall (roughly where the A527 crosses the line).