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THE TUNNEL WAS A HISTORIC CREATION BUT FELL INTO DERELICTION AND DISREPAIR BEFORE IT WAS GIVEN A NEW LEASE OF LIFE 16:22, 02 Feb 2025Updated 16:23, 02 Feb 2025 Over 160 years ago, the
historic town of Caernarfon was home to three railway stations, all operated by London and North Western Railway. One served the Afon Wen line down the Llyn Peninsula, another catered for
trains on the Menai Bridge Line, while the third was the terminus for the Llanberis line. On July 5, 1865, an Act for the construction of the 'Carnarvon Town Line' was granted.
This mile-long line connected all three separate railways, creating a through route between Menai Bridge and Afon Wen, near Pwllheli, which included a tunnel under the historic town. A
163-yard tunnel was built just east of Caernarfon Castle. According to Sabre-roads.orgU.K., it seems to have been constructed as a cut and cover structure as the roof of the tunnel below
Castle Square "appears to be too thin for a bored tunnel". _READ THE BIGGEST STORIES IN WALES FIRST BY __SIGNING UP TO OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER HERE_. Article continues below The new
line opened to goods services on August 5, 1870, and to passengers on January 3, 1871. Disused Railway Tunnels UK stated: "The line appeared to be double-track for most of its length,
but it was in fact two parallel single-track railways between Caernarfon station to a point just north of the River Seiont, at that point the lines separated, one continued south crossing
the river on a stone viaduct to link to the Afon Wen line and the other turned east to connect to the Llanberis branch." The lines between Caernarfon and Afon Wen, as well as the
Llanberis branch line, were both closed to all trains back in 1964, leaving no scheduled services over the Carnarvon Town Railway. Disused Railway Tunnels UK shared: "The Llanberis line
was lifted from February 1965 leaving only the single track of the former Afon Wen line in situ, it was used in July 1969 for the storage of excursion trains that visited Caernarfon for the
investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales, celebrations were short lived as in May 1970 the line was lifted," reports North Wales Live. The Caernarfon tunnel then fell into a
state of disrepair, becoming derelict and overgrown. A photo showing the dilapidated condition of the tunnel and former tracks was posted by Nick Catford on the www.disused-stations.orgU.K.
website. However, in the 1990s, efforts began to repurpose the tunnel as a road link beneath the town, which successfully reopened in 1999 with vehicles taking the place of trains, running
between St Helens Road and Crown Street. Article continues below The tunnel gained some notoriety after being featured as a multi-vehicle accident site in the BBC series Casualty. Nearby,
the new terminus for the Welsh Highland Railway is situated, utilising the old Cricceth line's trackbed up to Dinas before following the historic narrow gauge route through the
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