Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 18, 2009

The Tunnel Railway (also known as the Ramsgate Cliff Railway, the Ramsgate Tunnel Railway, the Ramsgate Underground Railway and the World Scenic Railway) was an underground railway in Ramsgate, Kent, England. Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate in 1926, it was built to connect tourist attractions and shops near Ramsgate harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park. Except for its two stations—one at each end of the tunnel—the line ran entirely underground, making Ramsgate only the third settlement in Britain (after London and Glasgow) to have an underground railway system. The line was built in less than three months, and on its completion in 1936 was one of the shortest independent railway lines in the country. It was open for only three years before being converted to a major air-raid shelter during World War II. After the war's end, it was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of the British railways but remained in private hands. Passenger numbers fell during the 1960s, and the line became economically nonviable. Following a train wreck in 1965, the owners decided to close services at the end of September that year. The tunnel still exists, albeit sealed and disused, but no trace of the stations remains.