Underground Mail Rail opens to the public on July 28

Mail Rail, the Post Office Underground Railway in London that had been mothballed for 14 years, is to open to the public on July 28 as part of the Postal Museum.

The Clerkenwell-based museum offers visitors the chance to ride on part of the 6.5 mile, 2ft gauge railway through Mount Pleasant station, where an audio-visual display explores the history of the system. Its partial reopening was funded by the National Lottery, Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd.

The railway was built from 1915 to bypass growing road congestion in the capital, and opened in 1927. At its peak, it operated for 22 hours per day and carried more than four million letters every day. It was closed in May 2003 when Royal Mail claimed road transport was cheaper than using the underground railway. Visitors to the museum will descend into the former engineering depot before travelling on the train (RAIL 734, 795).

“It’s fantastic to be able to announce our opening date,” said Postal Museum Director Adrian Steel.