Miley Tunnel, Preston

The Miley Tunnel in Preston was built around 1840 as part of the Preston & Longridge Railway, originally intended to transport stone from Longridge and to form part of a larger but abandoned plan to link Lancashire with Yorkshire. The tunnel is unusual in that it consists of three separate brick-roofed sections with open ventilation gaps between them, together stretching roughly 790 metres beneath the northern part of the city.

From 1856, when Deepdale Bridge station opened, the line through the tunnel began to carry passengers, while the earlier Deepdale Street station shifted to goods-only operations. By the mid-19th century the line had come under joint ownership of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and the London & North Western Railway. Passenger services later ended, but goods trains continued to use the line for many decades. The western section, which includes Miley Tunnel, is thought to have remained in occasional freight use until around 1980, after which the line fell into disuse.

Today, the tunnel still contains disused track but is heavily overgrown and deteriorating. Small fires, trespassing incidents and safety concerns have occurred over the years. Although parts of the former railway route have been converted into a cycle and walking path, the tunnel itself remains closed to the public. Recent construction work around the entrances has fuelled speculation about possible future reuse, but no confirmed plans exist.