Closed 1980 No. of tracks Single | Opened 1904 | |
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Line Formerly the Kansas City to St. Louis, Missouri line System Formerly Missouri Central Railroad Crosses Bannister Road, Kansas City | ||
The Vale Tunnel is a railway tunnel south of Raytown, near Kansas City, Missouri. It was built by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad in 1903-04, and was the final tunnel of four to be built on the entire Rock Island railroad, all of which were in Missouri. The tunnel is part of the Kansas City to St. Louis, Missouri line, and travels beneath Bannister Road. In 1980, the Rock Island was liquidated in court and the tunnel and line across Missouri was eventually sold to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (AKA Cotton Belt).
The tunnel is 441 feet long.
There have been several owners of the line since 1980, after the Rock Island went bankrupt. Although there have been several court battles over the threat of the reopening of the line, it remains to be the property of the Union Pacific Railroad, and remains embargoed (unused) at this time. Most of the line remains intact as does the tunnel, except for a few places where it has been cut for road improvements.
As of 2016, the line was now owned buy Jackson County. There are current plans to turn the old line into a rail trail, Missouri Rock Island Rail Trail, with work to begin in 2017, and open in 2018.