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Bure Valley Railway - Aylsham bypass tunnel

The Aylsham Bypass Tunnel is the only railway tunnel in Norfolk that is currently open to trains. It was constructed for the Bure Valley Railway which it carries under the A149 (Aylsham Bypass). The original East Norfolk Railway ran above ground and crossed the road by means of a level crossing > Link. For a view taken from the other side see > Link.

The Bure Valley Railway is Norfolk's longest fifteen inch gauge line. It opened on 10. July 1990, and the long distance footpath running parallel with it was opened in 1991. The Bure Valley Railway runs between Aylsham and Wroxham, with stations in Brampton, Buxton and Coltishall. The railway operates services using either Steam or Diesel locomotives - ten buckets of coal are required for fuelling a steam locomotive on its 18 mile round trip > TG1926 : Ten buckets of coal. Link

The railway runs on the trackbed of the East Norfolk Railway (ENR), opened in 1877 with the first section connecting Norwich and Cromer, and an extension from Wroxham to Aylsham in 1880. The line was taken over by the Great Eastern Railway in 1882 and amalgamated into the London & North Eastern Railway in 1923. Passenger service stopped in 1952 but freight service continued until the 1970s. Coal traffic was carried from Norwich Thorpe via Aylsham to Norwich City and concrete building components were carried from Lenwade. This traffic ended in 1981 and the line through Aylsham formally closed on 6 January 1982.