The Trelill Railway Tunnel was built in 1895 and formed part of the North Cornwall Railway

North Cornwall Railway

The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway to...

 network, which ran the Atlantic Coast Express

Atlantic Coast Express

The Atlantic Coast Express was an express passenger train in England between Waterloo station, London and seaside resorts in the south-west...

 to London, between Bodmin

Bodmin

Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...

 and Camelford

Camelford

Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council....

. It is the only tunnel along this route.

The tunnel length is 333 yards (304.5 m) and is built as a curve and a decline down to St Kew Highway and runs right under the village of Trelill. The tunnel served to take the line below the village of Trelill, so allowing a more direct route between Halwill

Halwill

Halwill is a village in Devon, England just off the A3079 Okehampton to Holsworthy road. About a mile away on the main road is another settlement called Halwill Junction....

 in Devon and Padstow

Padstow

Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...

 in Cornwall. The line closed on the 3rd October 1966 as part of Dr Beeching's railway cuts

Beeching Axe

The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...

.

Geographical location

• North portal: 50.570073°N 4.762616°W
• South portal: 50.567334°N 4.763796°W