Mersey Tunnels
Encyclopedia
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
with the Wirral Peninsula
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, under the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. There are three tunnels: the Mersey Railway Tunnel
Mersey Railway
The Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. It was constructed by...
(opened 1886), and two road tunnels, the Queensway Tunnel
Queensway Tunnel
The Queensway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. It is often called the Birkenhead Tunnel, to distinguish it from the Kingsway Tunnel, which serves Wallasey.-History:...
(opened 1934) and the Kingsway Tunnel
Kingsway Tunnel
The Kingsway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey in Merseyside, northwest England, and runs between Liverpool and Wallasey. It is one and half miles long and is often called the Wallasey Tunnel to distinguish it from the older Queensway Tunnel which runs between Liverpool and...
(opened 1971). The railway tunnel and Queensway Tunnel connect Liverpool with Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, while the Kingsway Tunnel runs to Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
.
The road tunnels are owned and operated by Merseytravel
Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
, and have their own police force, the Mersey Tunnels Police
Mersey Tunnels Police
The Mersey Tunnels Police is a small, non-Home Office police force which polices the Mersey Tunnels in Merseyside, England on behalf of the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority.-Role and powers:...
. In 1967 it was announced that the "Mersey Tunnel Scheme" was now operational. The scheme comprised which was claimed to be the largest closed circuit television system for traffic control outside North America, and featured a bank of 22 CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
monitors.
The Birkenhead Tunnel was used to film scenes for the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.
This provided Claire House children’s hospice in Wirral with a £20,000 windfall. The money being paid to Merseytravel by Warner Brothers, the makers of the Harry Potter film, for use of the Tunnel as a location.