Tunnels underneath the River Thames

The table below lists many of the tunnels under the River Thames in and near London, which, thanks largely to its underlying bed of clay, is one of the most tunnelled cities in the world. The tunnels are used for road vehicles, pedestrians, Tube and railway lines and utilities. Several tunnels are over a century old: the original Thames Tunnel was the world's first underwater tunnel.

List of tunnels
Name Type Between Opened Carries Notes
Thames Cable Tunnel Utility tunnelFormer Tilbury power station↔Eastcourt Marsh sealing end compound1970Power cable1,675 metres (5,495 ft) long, carries two 400kV circuits;[1][2] depth 46 metres (151 ft), only accessible by authorized personnel
High Speed 1 tunnels Railway tunnelWest Thurrock, Swanscombe2007High Speed 1
Dartford Tunnel (eastern) Road tunnelMay 1980A282 road
Dartford Tunnel (western) Road tunnel18 Nov 1963A282 road, European route E15
Dartford Cable Tunnel Utility tunnel2005Power cable
Barking cable tunnel Utility tunnel[3]Barking, Thamesmead1920s[4]Power cable
Docklands Light Railway tunnel Railway tunnelKing George V, Woolwich Arsenal2009Docklands Light Railway
Crossrail tunnels Railway tunnelWoolwich, North Woolwich2014[5]CrossrailThe tunnel construction was finished in 2015, they are due to begin rail service in 2021/22.
Woolwich foot tunnel Pedestrian tunnel[6]Woolwich, North Woolwich26 Oct 1912FootpathThe chief engineer was Maurice Fitzmaurice.
Thames Barrier Flood barrierWoolwich, North Woolwich1984Service tunnel only accessible by authorized personnel.
Millennium Dome cable tunnel Utility tunnel[7]Millennium Dome, West Ham1999[8]Power cable2.8-metre (9 ft 2 in) diameter, only accessible by authorized personnel
Jubilee line tunnels Railway tunnelNorth Greenwich tube station, Canning Town1999Jubilee line
Blackwall Tunnel (eastern) Road tunnelLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets, Royal Borough of Greenwich1967A102 road
Blackwall Tunnel (western) Road tunnelLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets, Royal Borough of Greenwich22 May 1897[9]A102 roadEngineer was Alexander Binnie.
Jubilee line tunnels Railway tunnelCanary Wharf tube station, North Greenwich tube station1999Jubilee line
Docklands Light Railway tunnel Railway tunnelIsland Gardens, Cutty Sark1999Docklands Light Railway
Greenwich foot tunnel Pedestrian tunnel[6]Millwall, Greenwich1899FootpathThe chief engineer was Alexander Binnie.
Deptford cable tunnel Utility tunnel[10]Deptford, WappingPower cable
Jubilee line tunnels Railway tunnelCanada Water station, Canary Wharf tube station1999Jubilee line
Rotherhithe Tunnel Road tunnel, pedestrian tunnelRotherhithe, Limehouse12 Jun 1908A101 roadThe chief engineer was Maurice Fitzmaurice.
Thames Tunnel Railway tunnelWapping, Rotherhithe1843East London line, London OvergroundMarc Brunel. The world's first underwater tunnel, now part of the Overground network. Originally a foot tunnel.
New Cross to Finsbury Market Cable Tunnel Utility tunnelNew Cross Substation - Wellclose Square Substation2017Power cable
Tower Subway Utility tunnel, tube railway, pedestrian tunnel2 Aug 1870Water pipePeter W. Barlow and James Henry Greathead. The world's first underground tube railway. A rail tunnel for 3 months only, then a foot tunnel. Currently carries pipes and fibre-optic lines.
Northern Line (Bank branch) tunnels Railway tunnelLondon Bridge tube station, Bank and Monument stations1900Northern line (Bank branch)
City & South London Railway tunnels Railway tunnelBorough tube station, King William Street tube station1890City and South London RailwayOriginally rail tunnels, now disused. The world's first electric tube railway, with tunnels only 10 feet 2 inches (3.10 m) in diameter, became disused in 1900 when new 11-foot-6-inch (3.51 m) tunnels to the east replaced them
Waterloo & City line tunnels Railway tunnelBank and Monument stations, Waterloo tube station1898Waterloo & City line
Bankside Cable Tunnel Utility tunnel[11]Bankside, Blackfriars1940sPower cable
Northern line (Charing Cross branch) tunnels Railway tunnelWaterloo tube station, Embankment tube station1926Northern line (Charing Cross branch)
Bakerloo line tunnels Railway tunnelWaterloo tube station, Embankment tube station1906Bakerloo line
Bankside–Charing Cross cable tunnel Utility tunnel[11]Bankside substation to Charing Cross substation, partly runs beneath Hungerford BridgePower cable
Jubilee line tunnels Railway tunnelWaterloo tube station, Westminster tube station1999Jubilee line
Victoria line tunnels Railway tunnelVauxhall tube station, Pimlico tube station1971Victoria line
Wimbledon – Pimlico cable tunnel Utility tunnel[7]1996Power cable
Battersea steam tunnel Utility tunnelBattersea, Pimlico20th centuryWater pipeUsed to carry steam under the Thames to the Churchill Gardens estate.
Battersea exhaust tunnels Utility tunnelBattersea, Pimlico1920s2 tunnels run under the Thames from the station and arrive on either side of Chelsea Bridge.
London Power Tunnels Utility tunnelWimbledon, Kensal Green2018, 2011Power cable

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Other tunnels

The figure and list above leaves out a tunnel to the site of the old Ferranti power station on the east side of the mouth of Deptford Creek.

There is also a tunnel between Cottons centre and the old Billingsgate Fish Market near to London Bridge. Citibank used it for cabling at one point; it was large enough for a person to walk through.

The Silvertown Tunnel is a new Thames river crossing proposed to supplement the existing Blackwall Tunnel, which will join the Greenwich Peninsula with West Silvertown.

The Thames Tideway Tunnel, due for completion in 2025, will be a 25 km (16 mi) long tunnel running mostly under the tidal section of the River Thames through central London to capture, store and convey almost all the raw sewage and rainwater that currently overflows into the river.

Background

London's abundance of river tunnels has resulted from a number of factors. For historical reasons, the city centre has relatively few railway bridges. Only three railway bridges exist in central London, only one of which provides through services across the capital. Consequently, railway builders have had to tunnel under the river in the city centre rather than bridge it. By contrast, railway bridges are relatively common to the west of the inner city.

Another historical factor has been the presence of the Port of London, which until the 1980s required large ships to be able to access the river as far upstream as the City of London. Until the construction of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford in 1991, the easternmost bridge on the Thames was Tower Bridge in central London. Even now, the Dartford Crossing provides the only way to cross the Thames by road between London and the sea. The width of the river downstream meant that tunnels were the only options for crossings before improvements in technology allowed the construction of high bridges such as the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

See also

References
  1. Haswell, C.K. (December 1969). "Thames Cable Tunnel". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 44 (4): 323–340. doi:10.1680/iicep.1969.7250.
  2. Anon (May 1970). "Cables Down Under". Electronics & Power. 16 (5): 175. doi:10.1049/ep.1970.0161.
  3. "Open Infrastructure Map".
  4. https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/barking-power-station-creekmouth-barking-11049
  5. http://www.crossrail.co.uk/construction/tunnelling/railway-tunnels/thames-tunnel-plumstead-to-north-woolwich
  6. "Foot tunnels".
  7. Knights, M.; Mathews, J. L. R.; Marshall, R. (August 2001). "Revealed: London's network of power tunnels". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Civil Engineering. 144 (3): 121–127. doi:10.1680/cien.2001.144.3.121.
  8. "Monitoring settlement in London Clay".
  9. John Witherow; Flora Shaw; Robert Barrington-Ward (eds.), The Times, London: Times Newspapers, ISSN 0140-0460, Wikidata Q50008
  10. "Open Infrastructure Map". Open Infrastructure Map. Retrieved 23 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "Open Infrastructure Map". Open Infrastructure Map. Retrieved 23 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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