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Harecastle Tunnel

Type: Navigation Closure

Waterway(s): Trent & Mersey Canal

From: 8 October 2025, 2pm

To: 10 October 2025, 11:22am inclusive

Region: West Midlands

Reason: 3rd Party Works

Subject to review on: 10 October 2025

Location

Closest waterwayTrent & Mersey Canal
Starts atHarecastle Tunnel
Ends atHarecastle Tunnel
Upstream winding holeMacclesfield Canal Junction
Downstream winding holeBelow Harecastle South Portal

Description

Original 8 October 2025, 2:15pm

Please be advised that the Harecastle Tunnel has been closed with immediate effect and will remain closed to navigation until further notice.

This decision has been made due to a fault with the landline at the South Portal, resulting in a complete loss of communication at that end of the tunnel. As there is no reliable mobile phone signal in the area, we are currently unable to safely operate the tunnel without effective communication between both portals.

We are awaiting repairs to the landline by Vodafone and will reopen the tunnel as soon as it is safe to do so.

We appreciate your patience while we work with Vodafone to resolve this issue and will provide a further update by the end of the week.

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