Victoria Tunnel (Liverpool)
Encyclopedia
History
The Victoria Tunnel in LiverpoolLiverpool
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...
, England is a 2,475 metre long rail tunnel. Opened in 1849, its eastern portal is adjacent to Edge Hill station. The western end opens into a short cutting, between Byrom Street and Fontenoy Street, the short Waterloo Tunnel
Waterloo Tunnel
The Waterloo Tunnel in Liverpool, England is a former railway tunnel, 862 metres long, which opened in 1849. At its western end was Waterloo Goods railway station, after 1895 continuing beyond to Liverpool Riverside railway station, and onto the dock railway system...
exits the cutting terminating at Waterloo Dock. The Victoria and Waterloo tunnel are effectively one long tunnel with a ventilation cutting.The whole length is generally known as the Waterloo Tunnel.
The tunnel closed on 19 November 1972. A single set of rails still enters the tunnel for a short distance at Edge Hill, used by freight locomotives during shunting manoeuvres.
Reuse for Merseyrail
The Victoria Tunnel was considered as an addition to MerseyrailMerseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
in 1975, to link the city centre to the east of Liverpool
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...
. However, the tunnel was rejected in favour of the Wapping Tunnel
Wapping Tunnel
Wapping or Edge Hill Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis...
. At Liverpool Central station
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
, spur works were built to enable a tunnelled connection to the Wapping Tunnel
Wapping Tunnel
Wapping or Edge Hill Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis...
creating a route to Edge Hill railway station
Edge Hill railway station
Edge Hill railway station serves the district of Edge Hill in Liverpool, England.There have been two stations of that name. The first stood a short distance south-west of the present station and its remains are still visible, although the site is not open to the public.Edge Hill is the first...
and the Canada Dock Branch
Canada Dock Branch
The Canada Dock Branch is a 4 mile 59 chain long railway line in Liverpool, England. The line runs from the large Edge Hill rail junction in the east of Liverpool to Seaforth Dock to the north. The line was originally built by the London and North Western Railway terminating at Canada Dock, with...
. This plan would have included the reopening of stations such as Breck Road railway station
Breck Road railway station
Breck Road railway station was a station located on the Canada Dock Branch to the north of Townsend Lane between Anfield and Clubmoor, Liverpool, England, it opened on 1 July 1870. It closed to passengers on 31 May 1948....
as part of the Merseyrail system. Budget cuts prevented further work.
In May 2007 it was reported that Merseytravel
Merseytravel
Merseytravel Merseytravel Merseytravel (MPTE, or Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
Chief Executive Neil Scales had prepared a report outlining the possibilities for reuse of the Victoria and Wapping
Wapping Tunnel
Wapping or Edge Hill Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis...
tunnels. Merseytravel safeguard the tunnel for future use..
Further reading
- Moore, Jim (1998) Underground Liverpool, Liverpool : Bluecoat Press, ISBN 1-872568-43-2