
Influential names have got behind the campaign to save Queensbury Tunnel.
An open letter signed by local councillors, MPs and an Olympic champion has been sent to Cycling Minister Jesse Norman calling on the Department for Transport to restore the tunnel to create a cycle route linking Bradford and Keighley to Halifax.
England’s Historical Railway Estate (HRE), which manages the structure, is seeking to permanently close it at an estimated cost of £3.2 million.
Bradford West MP Naz Shah and Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax, joined former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith MP in signing the letter.
Former Olympic individual pursuit gold medallist Chris Boardman MBE, now Greater Manchester’s first Cycling and Walking Commissioner, also backed the call.