Under ground railway

Seminar report on <UNDERGROUND RAILROAD>

1.INTRODUCTION

Tunnel

FIG: 1
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for
egress, commonly at each end.

A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some
tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers. Other uses
include routing power or telecommunication cables, some are to permit wildlife such as European badgers to
cross highways. Secret tunnels have given entrance to or escape from an area, such as the Cu Chi Tunnels or the
smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip which connect it to Egypt. Some tunnels are not for transport at all but
rather, are fortifications, for example Mittelwerk and Cheyenne Mountain.

In the United Kingdom, a pedestrian tunnel or other underpass beneath a road is called a
underpass subway. In the United States that term now means an underground rapid transit system.

The central part of a rapid transit network is usually built in tunnels. Rail station platforms
may be connected by pedestrian tunnels or by foot bridges.

Railroads

The work on a high-speed line (ligne à grande vitesse, or LGV) begins with earth moving.
The trackbed is carved into the landscape, using scrapers, graders, bulldozers and other heavy machinery. All
fixed structures are built; these include bridges, flyovers, culverts, game tunnels, and the like. Drainage facilities,
most notably the large ditches on either side of the trackbed, are constructed. Supply bases are established near
the end of the high-speed tracks, where crews will form work trains to carry rail, sleepers and other supplies to

D.Y.P.C.O.E., Akurdi, Pune 44 Department of Civil Engineering


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the work site.

FIG: 2

Next, a layer of compact gravel is spread on the trackbed. This, after being compacted by
rollers, provides an adequate surface for vehicles with tyres. TGV tracklaying then proceeds. The tracklaying
process is not particularly specialized to high-speed lines; the same general technique is applicable to any track
that uses continuous welded rail. The steps outlined below are used around the world in modern tracklaying.
TGV track, however, answers to stringent requirements that dictate materials, dimensions and tolerances.

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D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING


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Chapter 1:

1.1 Construction

FIG: 1.1
Cut-and-cover constructions of the Paris Métro in France

Tunnels are dug in types of materials varying from soft clay to hard rock. The method of
tunnel construction depends on such factors as the ground conditions, the ground water conditions, the length
and diameter of the tunnel drive, the depth of the tunnel, the logistics of supporting the tunnel excavation, the
final use and shape of the tunnel and appropriate risk management.

There are three basic types of tunnel construction in common use:

Cut and cover tunnels, constructed in a shallow trench and then covered over.
Bored tunnels, constructed in situ, without removing the ground above. They are usually of circular or
horseshoe cross-section.
Immersed tube tunnels, sunk into a body of water and sit on, or are buried just under, its bed.

1.1.1Usage limitations

A tunnel is relatively long and narrow; in general the length is more (usually much more)
than twice the diameter. Some hold a tunnel to be at least 0.160 kilometres (0.10 mi) long and call shorter
passageways by such terms as an "underpass" or a "chute". For example, the underpass beneath Yahata Station
in Kitakyushu, Japan is 0.130 km long (0.081 mi) and so might not be considered a tunnel.

1.1.2 Geotechnical investigation

A tunnel project must start with a comprehensive investigation of ground conditions by
collecting samples from boreholes and by other geophysical techniques. An informed choice can then be made
of machinery and methods for excavation and ground support, which will reduce the risk of encountering

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unforeseen ground conditions. In planning the route the horizontal and vertical alignments will make use of the
best ground and water conditions.

In some cases conventional desk and site studies yield insufficient information to assess such
factors as the blocky nature of rocks, the exact location of fault zones, or the stand-up times of softer ground.
This may be a particular concern in large diameter tunnels. To give more information a pilot tunnel, or drift,
may be driven ahead of the main drive. This smaller diameter tunnel will be easier to support should unexpected
conditions be met, and will be incorporated in the final tunnel. Alternatively, horizontal boreholes may
sometimes be drilled ahead of the advancing tunnel face.

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Chapter 2: Techniques

2.1 Cut-and-cover

Cut-and-cover is a simple method of construction for shallow tunnels where a trench is
excavated and roofed over with an overhead support system strong enough to carry the load of what is to be
built above the tunnel. Two basic forms of cut-and-cover tunnelling are available:

Bottom-up method: A trench is excavated, with ground support as necessary, and the tunnel is constructed
in it. The tunnel may be of in situ concrete, precast concrete, precast arches,or corrugated steel arches; in
early days brickwork was used. The trench is then carefully back-filled and the surface is reinstated.
Top-down method: Here side support walls and capping beams are constructed from ground level by such
methods as slurry walling, or contiguous bored piling. Then a shallow excavation allows making the
tunnel roof of precast beams or in situ concrete. The surface is then reinstated except for access
openings. This allows early reinstatement of roadways, services and other surface features. Excavation
then takes place under the permanent tunnel roof, and the base slab is constructed.

Shallow tunnels are often of the cut-and-cover type (if under water, of the immersed-tube
type), while deep tunnels are excavated, often using a tunnelling shield. For intermediate levels, both methods
are possible.

Large cut-and-cover boxes are often used for underground metro stations, such as Canary
Wharf tube station in London. This construction form generally has two levels, which allows economical
arrangements for ticket hall, station platforms, passenger access and emergency egress, ventilation and smoke
control, staff rooms, and equipment rooms. The interior of Canary Wharf station has been likened to an
underground cathedral, owing to the sheer size of the excavation. This contrasts with most traditional stations
on London Underground, where bored tunnels were used for stations and passenger access.

2.2 Clay-kicking

Clay-kicking is a specialised method developed in the United Kingdom, of manually
digging tunnels in strong clay-based soil structures. Unlike previous manual methods of using mattocks which
relied on the soil structure to be hard, clay-kicking was relatively silent and hence did not harm soft clay based
structures.

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` The clay-kicker lies on a plank at a 45degree angle away from the working face, and inserts
a tool with a cup-like rounded end with his feet. Turning the tool with his hands, he extracts a section of soil,
which is then placed on the waste extract.

Regularly used in Victorian civil engineering, the methods found favour in the renewal of
the United Kingdom's then ancient sewerage systems, by not having to remove all property or infrastructure to
create an effective small tunnel system. During the First World War, the system was successfully deployed by the
Royal Engineer tunnelling companies to deploy large military mines beneath enemy German Empire lines. The
method was virtually silent not susceptible to listening methods of detection.

2.3 Boring machines
Tunnel boring machine

FIG: 2.1
A tunnel boring machine that was used at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, United States

Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and associated back-up systems are used to highly
automate the entire tunneling process, reducing tunneling costs.

Tunnel boring in certain predominantly urban applications, is viewed as quick and cost
effective alternative to laying surface rails and roads. Expensive compulsory purchase of buildings and land with
potentially lengthy planning inquiries is eliminated.

There are a variety of TBMs that can operate in a variety of conditions, from hard rock to
soft water-bearing ground. Some types of TBMs, bentonite slurry and earth-pressure balance machines, have
pressurised compartments at the front end, allowing them to be used in difficult conditions below the water
table. This pressurizes the ground ahead of the TBM cutter head to balance the water pressure. The operators
work in normal air pressure behind the pressurised compartment, but may occasionally have to enter that

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compartment to renew or repair the cutters. This requires special precautions, such as local ground treatment or
halting the TBM at a position free from water. Despite these difficulties, TBMs are now preferred to the older
method of tunneling in compressed air, with an air lock/decompression chamber some way back from the
TBM, which required operators to work in high pressure and go through decompression procedures at the end
of their shifts, much like divers.

In February 2010, Aker Wirth delivered a TBM to Switzerland, for the expansion of Linth
Limmern Power Plant in Switzerland. The borehole has a diameter of 8.03 metres (26.3 ft).[2] The TBM used for
digging the 57-kilometre (35 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel, in Switzerland, has a diameter of about 9 metres (30 ft).
A larger TBM was built to bore the Green Heart Tunnel (Dutch: Tunnel Groene Hart) as part of the HSL-Zuid
in the Netherlands, with a diameter of 14.87 metres (48.8 ft).[3] This in turn was superseded by the Madrid M30
ringroad, Spain, and the Chong Ming tunnels in Shanghai, China. All of these machines were built at least partly
by Herrenknecht.

2.4 Shafts

A shaft is sometimes necessary for a tunnel project. They are usually circular and go
straight down until they reach the level at which the tunnel is going to be built. A shaft normally has concrete
walls and is built just like it is going to be permanent. Once they are built the Tunnel Boring Machines are
lowered to the bottom and excavation can start. Shafts are the main entrance in and out of the tunnel until the
project is completed. Sometimes if a tunnel is going to be long there will be multiple shafts at various locations
so that entrance into the tunnel is closer to the unexcavated area.

2.4.1 Other key factors

Stand-up time is the amount of time a tunnel will support itself without any added structures. Knowing
this time allows the engineers to determine how much can be excavated before support is needed. The
longer the stand-up time is the faster the excavating will go. Generally certain configurations of rock and
clay will have the greatest stand-up time, and sand and fine soils will have a much lower stand-up time.
Groundwater control is very important in tunnel construction. If there is water leaking into the tunnel
stand-up time will be greatly decreased. If there is water leaking into the shaft it will become unstable
and will not be safe to work in. To stop this from happening there are a few common methods. One of
the most effective is ground freezing. To do this pipes are inserted into the ground surrounding the shaft
and are cooled until they freeze. This freezes the ground around each pipe until the whole shaft is

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surrounded frozen soil, keeping water out. The most common method is to install pipes into the ground
and to simply pump the water out. This works for tunnels and shafts.
Tunnel shape is very important in determining stand-up time. The force from gravity is straight down on
a tunnel, so if the tunnel is wider than it is high it will have a harder time supporting itself decreasing its
stand-up time. If a tunnel is higher than it is wide the stand up time will increase making the project
easier. The hardest shape to support itself is a square or rectangular tunnel. The forces have a harder
time being redirected around the tunnel making it extremely hard to support itself. This of course all
depends what the material of the ground is.

2.5 Sprayed concrete techniques

The New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) was developed in the 1960s, and is the best
known of a number of engineering solutions that use calculated and empirical real-time measurements to
provide optimised safe support to the tunnel lining. The main idea of this method is to use the geological stress
of the surrounding rock mass to stabilize the tunnel itself, by allowing a measured relaxation and stress
reassignment into the surrounding rock to prevent full loads becoming imposed on the introduced support
measures. Based on geotechnical measurements, an optimal cross section is computed. The excavation is
immediately protected by a layer of sprayed concrete, commonly referred to as shotcrete, after excavation. Other
support measures could include steel arches, rockbolts and mesh. Technological developments in sprayed
concrete technology have resulted in steel and polypropylene fibres being added to the concrete mix to improve
lining strength. This creates a natural load-bearing ring, which minimizes the rock's deformation.

FIG: 2.2
Illowra Battery utility tunnel, Port Kembla. One of many bunkers south of Sydney.

By special monitoring the NATM method is very flexible, even at surprising changes of the
geomechanical rock consistency during the tunneling work. The measured rock properties lead to appropriate
tools for tunnel strengthening. In the last decades also soft ground excavations up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)
became usual.

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2.6 Pipe jacking

Pipe Jacking, also known as pipejacking or pipe-jacking, is a method of tunnel construction
where hydraulic jacks are used to push specially made pipes through the ground behind a tunnel boring machine
or shield. This technique is commonly used to create tunnels under existing structures, such as roads or railways.
Tunnels constructed by pipe jacking are normally small diameter tunnels with a maximum size of around 2.4m.

2.7 Box jacking

Box jacking is similar to pipe jacking, but instead of jacking tubes, a box shaped tunnel is used.
Jacked boxes can be a much larger span than a pipe jack with the span of some box jacks in excess of 20m. A
cutting head is normally used at the front of the box being jacked and excavation is normally by excavator from
within the box.

2.8 Underwater tunnels

There are also several approaches to underwater tunnels, the two most common being bored
tunnels or immersed tubes. Submerged floating tunnels are another approach that has not been constructed.

Other

2.8.1 Other tunneling methods include:

Drilling and blasting
Slurry-shield machine
Wall-cover construction method.

2.8.2 Costs and cost overruns of tunnels

Tunnels are costly and generally more costly than bridges. Large cost overruns are common
in tunnel construction.

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2.9 Choice of tunnels vs. bridges

For water crossings, a tunnel is generally more costly to construct than a bridge.
Navigational considerations may limit the use of high bridges or drawbridge spans intersecting with shipping
channels, necessitating a tunnel.

Bridges usually require a larger footprint on each shore than tunnels. There are actually more
codes to follow with bridges than with tunnels. In areas with expensive real estate, such as Manhattan and urban
Hong Kong, this is a strong factor in tunnels' favor. Boston's Big Dig project replaced elevated roadways with a
tunnel system to increase traffic capacity, hide traffic, reclaim land, redecorate, and reunite the city with the
waterfront.

The 1934 Queensway Road Tunnel under the River Mersey at Liverpool, was chosen over a
massively high bridge for defence reasons. It was feared aircraft could destroy a bridge in times of war.
Maintenance costs of a massive bridge to allow the world's largest ships navigate under was considered higher
than a tunnel. Similar conclusions were met for the 1971 Kingsway Tunnel under the River Mersey.

FIG: 2.3
The Queens–Midtown Tunnel in New York City serves as an example of a water-crossing tunnel built instead of
a bridge.

Examples of water-crossing tunnels built instead of bridges include the Holland Tunnel,
Queens-Midtown Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City, and the
Elizabeth River tunnels between Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, the 1934 River Mersey road Queensway
Tunnel and the Western Scheldt Tunnel, Zeeland, Netherlands.

Other reasons for choosing a tunnel instead of a bridge include avoiding difficulties with
tides, weather and shipping during construction (as in the 51.5-kilometre or 32.0 mi Channel Tunnel), aesthetic

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reasons (preserving the above-ground view, landscape, and scenery), and also for weight capacity reasons (it may
be more feasible to build a tunnel than a sufficiently strong bridge). Some water crossings are a mixture of
bridges and tunnels, such as the Denmark to Sweden link and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in the eastern
United States.

There are particular hazards with tunnels, especially from vehicle fires when combustion
gases can asphyxiate users, as happened at the Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland in 2001. One of the worst
railway disasters ever, the Balvano train disaster, was caused by a train stalling in the Armi tunnel in Italy in 1944,
killing 426 passengers.

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Chapter 3: Variant tunnel types

3.1 Double-deck tunnel

Some tunnels are double-deck, for example the two major segments of the San Francisco –
Oakland Bay Bridge (completed in 1936) are linked by a double-deck tunnel, once the largest diameter tunnel in
the world. At construction this was a combination bidirectional rail and truck pathway on the lower deck with
automobiles above, now converted to one-way road vehicle traffic on each deck.

A recent double-decker tunnel with both decks for motor vehicles is the Fuxing Road Tunnel in Shanghai,
China. Cars travel on the two-lane upper deck and heavier vehicles on the single-lane lower.

Multipurpose tunnel are tunnels that have more than one purpose. The SMART Tunnel in Malaysia is the first
multipurpose tunnel in the world, as it is used both to control traffic and flood in Kuala Lumpur.

3.2 Artificial tunnels

FIG: 3.1
The 19th century Dark Gate in Esztergom, Hungary.

Overbridges can sometimes be built by covering a road or river or railway with brick or still
arches, and then levelling the surface with earth. In railway parlance, a surface-level track which has been built or
covered over is normally called a covered way.

Snow sheds are a kind of artificial tunnel built to protect a railway from avalanches of snow. Similarly the
Stanwell Park, New South Wales steel tunnel, on the South Coast railway line, protects the line from rockfalls.

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Common utility ducts are man-made tunnels created to carry two or more utility lines underground. Through
co-location of different utilities in one tunnel, organizations are able to reduce the costs of building and
maintaining utilities.

3.3 Hazards

Owing to the enclosed space of a tunnel, fires can have very serious effects on users. The main
dangers are gas and smoke production, with low concentrations of carbon monoxide being highly toxic. Fires
killed 11 people in the Gotthard tunnel fire of 2001 for example, all of the victims succumbing to smoke and gas
inhalation. Over 400 passengers died in the Balvano train disaster in Italy in 1944, when the locomotive halted in
a long tunnel. Carbon monoxide poisoning was the main cause of the horrifying death rate.

3.4 Examples of tunnels

In history

FIG: 3.2
A short section remains of the 1836 Edge Hill to Lime Street tunnel in Liverpool. This is the oldest used rail
tunnel in the world. A tilting train passes through the tunnel.

FIG: 3.3

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The World's oldest underwater tunnel is rumored to be the Terelek kaya
tüneli under Kızıl River, a little south of the towns of Boyabat and Duragan in Turkey. Estimated to have been
built more than 2000 years ago (possibly 5000), it is assumed to have had a defence purpose.

The qanat or kareez of Persia is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water to
human settlements or for irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates. The oldest and largest known
qanat is in the Iranian city of Gonabad, which after 2700 years, still provides drinking and agricultural
water to nearly 40,000 people. Its main well depth is more than 360 m (1,180 ft), and its length is 45 km
(28 mi).
The Eupalinian aqueduct on the island of Samos (North Aegean, Greece). Built in 520 BC by the ancient
Greek engineer Eupalinos of Megara. Eupalinos organised the work so that the tunnel was begun from
both sides of mount Kastro. The two teams advanced simultaneously and met in the middle with
excellent accuracy, something that was extremely difficult in that time. The aqueduct was of utmost
defensive importance, since it ran underground, and it was not easily found by an enemy who could
otherwise cut off the water supply to Pythagoreion, the ancient capital of Samos. The tunnel's existence
was recorded by Herodotus (as was the mole and harbour, and the third wonder of the island, the great
temple to Hera, thought by many to be the largest in the Greek world). The precise location of the
tunnel was only re-established in the 19th century by German archaeologists. The tunnel proper is 1,030
m long (3,380 ft) and visitors can still enter it Eupalinos tunnel.
The Via Flaminia, an important Roman road, penetrated the Furlo pass in the Apennines through a
tunnel which emperor Vespasian had ordered built in 76-77. A modern road, the SS 3 Flaminia, still uses
this tunnel, which had a precursor dating back to the 3rd century BC; remnants of this earlier tunnel
(one of the first road tunnels) are also still visible.
Sapperton Canal Tunnel on the Thames and Severn Canal in England, dug through hills, which opened
in 1789, was 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long and allowed boat transport of coal and other goods. Above it runs the
Sapperton Long Tunnel which carries the "Golden Valley" railway line between Swindon and
Gloucester.
The 1796 Stoddart Tunnel in Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire is reputed to be the oldest rail tunnel in
the world. Rail wagons were horse-drawn.
The tunnel was created for the first true steam locomotive, from Penydarren to Abercynon. The
Penydarren locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick. The locomotive made the historic journey from
Penydarren to Abercynon in 1804. Part of this tunnel can still be seen at Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil,
Wales. This is arguably the oldest railway tunnel in the world, for self-propelled steam engines on rails.

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` The Montgomery Bell Tunnel in Tennessee, a 88 m (289 ft), high water diversion tunnel, 4.50-×-2.45 m
high (15-×-8.0 ft), to power a water wheel, was built by slave labour in 1819, being the first full-scale
tunnel in North America.
Crown Street Station, Liverpool, 1829. Built by George Stephenson, a single track tunnel 291 yd long
(266 m) was bored from Edge Hill to Crown Street to serve the world's first passenger railway station.
The station was abandoned in 1836 being too far from Liverpool city centre, with the area converted for
freight use. Closed down in 1972, the tunnel is disused. However it is the oldest rail tunnel running
under streets in the world. [1]
The 1.26 mile (2.03 km) 1829 Wapping Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was the first rail tunnel bored
under a metropolis. Currently disused since 1972. Having two tracks, the tunnel runs from Edge Hill in
the east of the city to the south end Liverpool docks being used only for freight. The tunnel is still in
excellent condition and is being considered for reuse by Merseyrail rapid transit rail system, with maybe
an underground station cut into the tunnel. The river portal is opposite the new Liverpool Arena being
ideal for a serving station. If reused it will be the oldest used underground rail tunnel in the world and
oldest part of any underground metro system.
1836, Lime St Station tunnel, Liverpool. A two track rail tunnel, 1.13 miles (1,811 m) long was bored
under a metropolis from Edge Hill in the east of the city to Lime Street. In the 1880s the tunnel was
converted to a deep cutting four tracks wide. The only occurrence of a tunnel being removed. A very
short section of the original tunnel still exists at Edge Hill station making this the oldest rail tunnel in the
world still in use, and the oldest in use under a street, albeit only one street and one building.
Box Tunnel in England, which opened in 1841, was the longest railway tunnel in the world at the time of
construction. It was dug and has a length of 2.9 km (1.8 mi).
The 0.75 mile long 1842 Prince of Wales Tunnel, in Shildon near Darlington, England, is the oldest
sizable tunnel in the world still in use under a settlement.
The Thames Tunnel, built by Marc Isambard Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened
in 1843, was the first underwater tunnel and the first to use a tunnelling shield. Originally used as a foot-
tunnel, it was a part of the East London Line of the London Underground until 2007, being the oldest
section of the system. From 2010 the tunnel becomes a part of the London Overground system.
The 2.07 miles (3.34 km) Victoria Tunnel in Liverpool, opened in 1848, was bored under a metropolis.
Initially used only for rail freight and later freight and passengers serving the Liverpool ship liner
terminal, the tunnel runs from Edge Hill in the east of the city to the north end Liverpool docks. Used
until 1972 it is still in excellent condition, being considered for reuse by the Merseyrail rapid transit rail
system. Stations being cut into the tunnel are being considered. Also, reuse by a monorail system from
the proposed Liverpool Waters redevelopment of Liverpool's Central Docks has been proposed.

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` The oldest underground sections of the London Underground were built using the cut-and-cover
method in the 1860s. The Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Circle and District lines were the first to
prove the success of a metro or subway system. Dating from 1863, Baker Street station is the oldest
underground station in the world.
The 1882 Col de Tende Road Tunnel, at 3182 metres long, was one of the first long road tunnels under
a pass, running between France and Italy.
The Mersey Railway tunnel opened in 1886 running from Liverpool to Birkenhead under the River
Mersey. The Mersey Railway was the world's first deep-level underground railway. By 1892 the
extensions on land from Birkenhead Park station to Liverpool Central Low level station gave a tunnel
3.12 miles (5029 m) in length. The under river section is 0.75 miles in length, being the longest
underwater tunnel in world in January 1886.
The rail Severn Tunnel was opened in late 1886, at 4 miles 624 yd (7,008 m) long, although only 2¼
miles (3.62 km) of the tunnel is actually under the river. The tunnel replaced the Mersey Railway tunnel's
longest under water record, which it held for less than a year.
James Greathead, in constructing the City & South London Railway tunnel beneath the Thames, opened
in 1890, brought together three key elements of tunnel construction under water: 1) shield method of
excavation; 2) permanent cast iron tunnel lining; 3) construction in a compressed air environment to
inhibit water flowing through soft ground material into the tunnel heading.[9]
St. Clair Tunnel, also opened later in 1890, linked the elements of the Greathead tunnels on a larger
scale.[9]
The 1927 Holland Tunnel was the first underwater tunnel designed for automobiles. This fact required a
novel ventilation system.

Longest

The Delaware Aqueduct in New York USA is the longest tunnel, of any type, in the world at 137 km
(85 mi). It is drilled through solid rock.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in the world at 57 km (35 mi). It will be totally
completed in 2017.
The Seikan Tunnel in Japan was the longest rail tunnel in the world at 53.9 km (33.5 mi), of which
23.3 km (14.5 mi) is under the sea.
The Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom under the English Channel is the
second-longest, with a total length of 50 km (31 mi), of which 39 km (24 mi) is under the sea.
The Lötschberg Base Tunnel opened in June 2007 in Switzerland was the longest land rail tunnel, with a
total of 34.5 km (21.4 mi).

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` The Lærdal Tunnel in Norway from Lærdal to Aurland is the world's longest road tunnel, intended for
cars and similar vehicles, at 24.5 km (15.2 mi).
The Zhongnanshan Tunnel in People's Republic of China opened in January 2007 is the world's second
longest highway tunnel and the longest road tunnel in Asia, at 18 km (11 mi).
The longest canal tunnel is the Rove Tunnel in France, over 7.12 km (4.42 mi) long.

Notable

The Lincoln Tunnel between New Jersey and New York is one of the busiest vehicular tunnels in the
United States, at 120,000 vehicles/day.
The Central Artery Tunnel in Boston carries approximately 200,000 vehicles/day.
The Fredhälls Tunnel in Stockholm, Sweden, and the New Elbe Tunnel in Hamburg, Germany, both
with around 150,000 vehicles a day, two of the most trafficked tunnels in the world.
Gerrards Cross tunnel in Britain is notable in that it is being built over a railway cutting that was dug in
the early part of the 20th Century. Thus, arguably, making it the tunnel longest in construction by the cut
and cover method. When complete a branch of the Tesco supermarket chain will occupy the space
above the railway tunnel.
Williamson's tunnels in Liverpool, built by a wealthy eccentric are probably the largest underground folly
in the world.
New York City Water Tunnel No. 3[2], started in 1970, has an expected completion date of 2020.
The Chicago Deep Tunnel Project is a network of 175 km (109 mi) of tunnels designed to reduce
flooding in the Chicago area. Started in the mid 1970s, the project is due to be completed in 2019.
Moffat Tunnel in Colorado straddles the Continental Divide. The tunnel is 6.2 mi (10.0 km) long and at
9,239 ft (2,816 m) above sea level is the highest railroad tunnel in the United States.
The Fenghuoshan tunnel on Qinghai-Tibet railway is the world's highest railway tunnel, about 4,905 m
(16,093 ft) above sea level.
The La Linea Tunnel in Colombia, will be (2013) the longest, 8.58 km (5.33 mi), mountain tunnel in
South America. It crosses beneath a mountain at 2,500 m (8,202.1 ft) above sea level with six lanes and it
has a parallel emergency tunnel. The tunnel is subject to serious groundwater pressure. The tunnel,
which is currently under construction, will link Bogotá and its urban area with the coffee-growing region
and with the main port on the Colombian Pacific coast.
The Honningsvåg Tunnel (4.443 km (2.76 mi) long) on European route E69 in Norway is the world's
northernmost road tunnel, except for mines (which exist on Svalbard).
The Eiksund Tunnel [3] on national road Rv 653 in Norway is the world's deepest subsea road tunnel
(7,776 m long, with deepest point at -287 metres below the sea level, opened in feb. 2008)

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Other uses

Excavation techniques, as well as the construction of underground bunkers and other
habitable areas, are often associated with military use during armed conflict, or civilian responses to threat of
attack. The use of tunnels for mining is called drift mining. One of the strangest uses of a tunnel was for the
storage of chemical weapons.

3.5 Natural tunnels

Lava tubes are partially empty, cave-like conduits underground, formed during volcanic eruptions by
flowing and cooling lava.
Natural Tunnel State Park (Virginia, USA) features an 850-foot (259 m) natural tunnel, really a limestone
cave, that has been used as a railroad tunnel since 1890.
Punarjani Guha Kerala, India. Hindus believe that crawling through the tunnel (which they believe was
created by a Hindu god) from one end to the other will wash away all of one’s sins and thus attain
rebirth, although only men are permitted to crawl through the cave.
Small "snow tunnels" are created by voles, chipmunks and other rodents for protection and access to
food sources. For more information regarding tunnels built by animals, see Burrow

3.6 Temporary way

During construction of a tunnel it is often convenient to install a temporary railway particularly
to remove spoil. This temporary railway is often narrow gauge so that it can be double track, which facilitates
the operation of empty and loaded trains at the same time. The temporary way is replaced by the permanent way
at completion, thus explaining the term Perway.

3.7 Enlargement

The vehicles using a tunnel can outgrow it, requiring replacement or enlargement. The original
single line Gib Tunnel near Mittagong was replaced with a double line tunnel, with the original tunnel used for
growing mushrooms.[citation needed] The Rhyndaston Tunnel was enlarged using a borrowed Tunnel Boring Machine
so as to be able to take ISO containers.

The 1836 Lime Street two track 1 mile tunnel from Edge Hill to Lime Street in Liverpool was
totally removed, apart from a short 50 metre section at Edge Hill. Four tracks were required. The tunnel was
converted into a very deep 4 track open cutting. However, short larger 4 track tunnels were left in some parts of

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the run. Train services were not interrupted as the work progressed. Photos of the work in progress: There are
other occurrences of tunnels being replaced by open cuts, for example, the Auburn Tunnel.

3.8 Location

Most of the tunnels listed below are located in the Western Ghats, the only mountain range in
the country that has good railway connectivity. There are longer tunnels that are under construction in the
Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of the USBRL Project.`

Name
Zonal Year of
(number Length Between stations State Coordinates
Railway commissioning
on route)

17°6′9″N
Karbude 6,506 metres Konkan 73°24′59″E /
Ukshi Bhoke Maharashtra 1997
(T-35) (21,345 ft) Railway 17.1025°N
73.41639°E

17°53′37″N
Nathuwadi 4,389 metres Diwan Konkan
Karanjadi Maharashtra 1997 73°23′14″E /
(T-6) (14,400 ft) Khavati Railway
17.89361°N
73.38722°E

16°58′48″N
Tike (T- 4,077 metres Konkan
Ratnagiri Nivasar Maharashtra 1997 73°23′42″E /
39) (13,376 ft) Railway
16.98°N
73.395°E

16°53′43″N
Berdewadi 4,000 metres Konkan
Adavali Vilawade Maharashtra 1997 73°36′22″E /
(T-49) (13,000 ft) Railway
16.89528°N
73.60611°E

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17°27′35″N
Savarde 3,429 metres Konkan
Kamathe Savarde Maharashtra 1997 73°31′19″E /
(T-17) (11,250 ft) Railway
17.45972°N
73.52194°E

Sangar (T- 2,445 metres Jammu and Northern
Sangar Manwal 2005
4) (8,022 ft) Kashmir Railway

Monkey
2,156 metres Central
Hill (T- Karjat Khandala Maharashtra 1982
(7,073 ft) Railway
25C)

Aravali (T- 2,100 metres Konkan
Aravali Sangameshwar Maharashtra 1997
21) (6,900 ft) Railway

Chiplun 2,033 metres Konkan
Chiplun Kamathe Maharashtra 1997 17°29′45″N
(T-16) (6,670 ft) Railway
73°31′50″E

TABLE: 1

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` Chapter 4:

4.1 Railroad Construction

4.1.1 LGV construction is the process by which the land on which TGV trains are to run is prepared for
their use, involving carving the trackbed and laying the track. It is similar to the building of standard railway
lines, but there are differences. In particular, construction process is more precise in order for the track to be
suitable for regular use at 300 km/h (186 mph). The quality of construction was put to the test in particular
during the TGV world speed record runs on the LGV Atlantique; the track was used at over 500 km/h
(310 mph) without suffering significant damage. This contrasts with previous French world rail speed record
attempts which resulted in severe deformation of the track.

4.1.2 Preparing the trackbed

The work on a high-speed line (ligne à grande vitesse, or LGV) begins with earth
moving. The trackbed is carved into the landscape, using scrapers, graders, bulldozers and other heavy
machinery. All fixed structures are built; these include bridges, flyovers, culverts, game tunnels, and the like.
Drainage facilities, most notably the large ditches on either side of the trackbed, are constructed. Supply bases
are established near the end of the high-speed tracks, where crews will form work trains to carry rail, sleepers
and other supplies to the work site.

Next, a layer of compact gravel is spread on the trackbed. This, after being compacted
by rollers, provides an adequate surface for vehicles with tyres. TGV tracklaying then proceeds. The tracklaying
process is not particularly specialized to high-speed lines; the same general technique is applicable to any track
that uses continuous welded rail. The steps outlined below are used around the world in modern tracklaying.
TGV track, however, answers to stringent requirements that dictate materials, dimensions and tolerances.

4.1.3 Laying the track

To begin laying track, a gantry crane that rides on rubber tires is used to lay down panels
of prefabricated track. These are laid roughly in the location where one of the tracks will be built (all LGVs have
two tracks). Each panel is 18 metres (60 feet) long, and rests on wooden sleepers. No ballast is used at this stage,
since the panel track is temporary.

Once the panel track is laid, a work train (pulled by diesel locomotives) can bring in the
sections of continuous welded rail that will be used for the permanent way of this first track. The rail comes

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from the factory in lengths varying from 200 m (660 ft) to 400 m (1310 ft). Such long pieces of rail are just laid
across several flatcars; they are very flexible, so this does not pose a problem. A special crane unloads the rail
sections and places them on each side of the temporary track, approximately 3.5 m (12 ft) apart. This operation
is usually carried out at night, for thermal reasons. The rail itself is standard UIC section, 60 kg/m (40 lb/ft),
with a tensile strength of 800 newtons per square millimetre or megapascals (116,000 psi).

For the next step, a gantry crane is used again. This time, however, the crane rides on
the two rails that were just laid alongside the temporary track. A train of flatcars, half loaded with LGV sleepers,
arrives at the site. It is pushed by a special diesel locomotive, which is low enough to fit underneath the gantry
cranes. The cranes remove the panels of temporary track, and stack them onto the empty half of the sleeper
train. Next, they pick up sets of 30 LGV sleepers, pre-arranged with the proper spacing (60 cm, or 24 in), using a
special fixture. The sleepers are laid on the gravel bed where the panel track was. The sleeper train leaves the
worksite loaded with sections of panel track.

The sleepers, sometimes known as bi-bloc sleepers, are U41 twin block reinforced
concrete, 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in.) wide, and weigh 245 kg (540 lb) each. They are equipped with hardware for Nabla
RNTC spring fasteners, and a 9 mm (3/8 in.) rubber pad. (Rubber pads are always used under the rail on
concrete sleepers, to avoid cracking). Next, a rail threader is used to lift the rails onto their final position on the
sleepers. This machine rides on the rails just like the gantry cranes, but can also support itself directly on a
sleeper. By doing this, it can lift the rails, and shift them inwards over the ends of the sleepers, to the proper
gauge (standard gauge). It then lowers them onto the rubber sleeper cushions, and workers use a pneumatically
operated machine to bolt down the Nabla clips with a predetermined torque. The rails are canted inward at a
slope of 1 in 20.

4.4.4 Joining track sections

The sections of rail are welded together using thermite. Conventional welding (using some
type of flame) does not work well on large metal pieces such as rails, since the heat is conducted away too
quickly. Thermite is better suited to this job. It is a mix of aluminium powder and rust (iron oxide) powder,
which reacts to produce iron, aluminum oxide, and a great deal of heat, making it ideal to weld rail.

Before the rail is joined, its length must be adjusted very accurately. This ensures that the
thermal stresses in the rail after it is joined into one continuous piece do not exceed certain limits, resulting in
lateral kinks (in hot weather) or fractures (in cold weather). The joining operation is performed by an
aluminothermic welding machine which is equipped with a rail saw, a weld shear and a grinder. When the

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`
thermite welding process is complete, the weld is ground to the profile of the rail, resulting in a seamless join
between rail sections. Stress in the rail due to temperature variations is absorbed without longitudinal strain,
except near bridges where an expansion joint is sometimes used.

4.4.5 Adding ballast

The next step consists of stuffing a deep bed of ballast underneath the new track. The
ballast arrives in a train of hopper cars pulled by diesel locomotives. Handling this train is challenging, since the
ballast must be spread evenly. If the train stops, ballast can pile over the rails and derail it.

A first layer of ballast is dumped directly onto the track, and a tamping-lining-levelling
machine, riding on the rails, forces the stones underneath the sleepers. Each pass of this machine can raise the
level of the track by 8 cm (3 in), so several passes of ballasting and of the machine are needed to build up a layer
of ballast at least 32 cm (1 ft) thick under the sleepers. The ballast is also piled on each side of the track for
lateral stability. The machine performs the initial alignment of the track. Next, a ballast regulator distributes the
ballast evenly. Finally, a dynamic vibrator machine shakes the track to perform the final tamping, effectively
simulating the passing of 2500 axles.

4.4.6 Finishing construction

Now that the first track is almost complete, work begins on the adjacent track. This time,
however, it is not necessary to lay a temporary track. Trains running on the first track bring the sleepers, and
then the rail, which is unloaded directly onto the sleepers by dispensing arms that swing out to the proper
alignment. The Nabla fasteners are secured, and the ballast is stuffed under the track as before.

The two tracks are now essentially complete, but the work on the line is not finished. The
catenary masts need to be erected, and the wire strung on them. Catenary installation is not complicated; it will
suffice to give a brief summary of specifications. The steel masts are I-beams, placed in a concrete foundation
up to 63 m (206 ft) apart. The supports are mounted on glass insulators. The carrier wire is bronze, 65 mm²
cross section, 14 kN (3100 lbf) tension. The stitch wire is bronze, 15 m (49.21 ft) long, 35 mm² cross-section.
The droppers are 5 mm stranded copper cable. The contact wire is hard drawn copper, 120 mm², flat section on
the contact side, 14 kN tension. The maximum depth of the catenary (distance between carrier and contact
wires) is 1.4 m (4.59 ft). The contact wire can rise a maximum of 240 mm (9.44 inches) but the normal vertical
displacement does not exceed 120 mm (4.72 inches).

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Now that the catenary is complete, the track is given final alignment adjustments down to millimeter tolerances.
The ballast is then blown to remove smaller gravel fragments and dust, which might be kicked up by trains. This
step is especially important on high-speed tracks, since the blast of a passing train is strong. Finally, TGV trains
are tested on the line at gradually increasing speeds. The track is qualified at speeds slightly higher than will be
used in everyday operations (typically 350 km/h, or 210 mph), before being opened to commercial service.

4.5 Stations and lines

The London Underground's 11 lines are divided into two classes: the subsurface routes and the deep-tube
routes. The Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines make up the subsurface class. The
Bakerloo, Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines make up the deep-tube
routes.

There was a twelfth line, a fifth subsurface route, the East London line, until 2007, when it closed for rebuilding
work. It reopened as part of London Overground in April 2010.[38]

The Underground serves 270 stations by rail. Fourteen Underground stations are outside
Greater London, of which five (Amersham, Chalfont & Latimer, Chesham, and Chorleywood on the
Metropolitan Line, and Epping on the Central Line) are beyond the M25 London Orbital motorway. Of the 32
London boroughs, six (Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Lewisham and Sutton) are not served by the
Underground network, while Hackney has Old Street and Manor House only just inside its boundaries.

FIG: 4.1

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` Zone 1 (central zone) of the Underground (and DLR) network in a geographically more
accurate layout than the usual Tube map, using the same style.

FIG: 4.2
Underground trains come in two sizes, larger subsurface trains and smaller tube trains. A
Metropolitan line A Stock train (left) passes a Piccadilly line 1973 Stock train (right) in the siding at Rayners
Lane

Lines on the Underground can be classified into two types: subsurface and deep-level. The
subsurface lines were dug by the cut-and-cover method, with the tracks running about 5 m (16 ft 5 in) below the
surface. The deep-level or tube lines, bored using a tunnelling shield, run about 20 m (65 ft 7 in) below the
surface (although this varies considerably), with each track in a separate tunnel. These tunnels can have a
diameter as small as 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in), and the loading gauge is thus considerably smaller than on the
subsurface lines. Lines of both types usually emerge on to the surface outside the central area.

While the tube lines are for the most part self-contained with a few exceptions, the
subsurface lines are part of an interconnected network: each shares track with at least two other lines. The
subsurface arrangement is similar to the New York City Subway, which also runs separate "lines" over shared
tracks.

25


` Rolling stock and electrification
4.6

London Underground rolling stock

FIG: 4.3
1996 Stock trains at Stratford Market Depot

The Underground uses rolling stock built between 1960 and the present. Stock on subsurface
lines is identified by a letter (such as A Stock, used on the Metropolitan line), while tube stock is identified by
the year in which it was designed (for example, 1996 Stock, used on the Jubilee line). All lines are worked by a
single type of stock except the District line, which uses both C and D Stock. Two types of stock are currently
being developed — 2009 Stock for the Victoria line and S stock for the subsurface lines, with the Metropolitan
line A Stock due to be replaced first. Rollout of both began in 2009. In addition to the electric multiple units
described above, there is engineering stock, such as ballast trains and brake vans, identified by a 1–3 letter prefix
then a number.

The Underground is one of the few networks in the world that uses a four-rail system. The
additional rail carries the electrical return that on third-rail and overhead networks is provided by the running
rails. The reason for this is that the return current, if allowed to flow through the running rails, would also tend
to flow through the cast-iron tunnel segments. These were never designed to carry electrical currents and would
suffer from galvanic corrosion if significant currents were allowed to flow through the joints. On the
Underground, a top-contact third rail is beside the track, energised at +420 V DC and a top-contact fourth rail is
centrally between the running rails, at −210 V DC, which combine to provide a traction voltage of 630 V DC.

In cases where the lines are shared with mainline trains which use a three-rail system (usually above ground and
not within cast iron tunnel segments), the third rail is set at +630 V and the fourth rail at 0 V DC.[40]

26


` Planned improvements and expansions
4.7

The Crossrail line will provide a new east-west link and will be integrated with the tube
network, but will not be part of it.

Each line is being upgraded to improve capacity and reliability, with new computerised
signalling, automatic train operation (ATO), track replacement, station refurbishment and, where needed, new
rolling stock. A trial of mobile phone coverage on the Waterloo & City line determined that coverage would be
appropriate for the entire network, with aims to have the service installed in time for the 2012 Olympics. Mayor
of London Boris Johnson revealed the plans would be funded through investment from the five main UK
mobile networks; Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, 3 and O2.

In summer, temperatures on parts of the Underground can become very uncomfortable
due to its deep and poorly ventilated tube tunnels; temperatures as high as 47 °C (117 °F) were reported in the
2006 European heat wave. A trial programme for a groundwater cooling system in Victoria station took place in
2006 and 2007; it aimed to determine whether such a system would be feasible and effective if in widespread use
for cooling the Underground. Posters may be observed on the Underground network advising passengers to
carry a bottle of water to help keep cool. The new S Stock trains will have air conditioning.

Although not part of London Underground, the Crossrail scheme will provide a new route
across central London by 2018, integrated with the tube network but not part of it. The long proposed Chelsea-
Hackney Line, which would not be built until after Crossrail, may become part of the London Underground. It
would give the network a new Northeast to South cross-London line to provide more interchanges with other
lines and relieve overcrowding on other lines. However, it is still on the drawing-board and may be either part of
the London Underground network or the National Rail network. The Croxley Rail Link proposal envisages
diverting the Metropolitan line Watford branch to Watford Junction station along a disused railway track. The
project awaits funding from the Department for Transport and remains at the proposal stage.

Boris Johnson has suggested extending the Bakerloo Line to Lewisham, Catford and Hayes
as South London lacks Underground lines (instead having a suburban rail network).

Proposals have also been made to reorganise the sub-surface lines and split the Northern
line and extend the Charing Cross branch to Battersea, although both of these are dependent upon other
upgrades being completed first. The plan to extend the Northern line to Battersea has been given planning
permission by the London Borough of Wandsworth and could be open by 2015. In early 2011 the London
Mayor also suggested extended the Northern Line to better accommodate workers in Greater London. Mr

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Johnson said that following recent office developments in Vauxhall and Battersea, the council are now thinking
about extending the Northern Line west from Kennington - such an extension would create two new stops
along the Northern Line.

4.8 History
History of the London Underground

Railway construction in the United Kingdom began in the early 19th century. By 1854 six railway terminals had
been built just outside the centre of London: London Bridge, Euston, Paddington, London King's Cross,
Bishopsgate and Waterloo. At this point, only Fenchurch Street station was located in the actual City of London.
Traffic congestion in the city and the surrounding areas had increased significantly in this period, partly due to
the need for rail travellers to complete their journeys into the city centre by road. The idea of building an
underground railway to link the City of London with the mainline terminals had first been proposed in the
1830s, but it was not until the 1850s that the idea was taken seriously as a solution to traffic congestion.

The first underground railways

FIG: 4.4
Construction of the Metropolitan Railway near King's Cross station, 1861

In 1855 an Act of Parliament was passed approving the construction of an underground
railway between Paddington Station and Farringdon Street via King's Cross which was to be called the
Metropolitan Railway. The Great Western Railway (GWR) gave financial backing to the project when it was
agreed that a junction would be built linking the underground railway with their mainline terminus at
Paddington. GWR also agreed to design special trains for the new subterranean railway.

A shortage of funds delayed construction for several years. The fact that this project got
under way at all was largely due to the lobbying of Charles Pearson, who was Solicitor to the City of London

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Corporation at the time. Pearson had supported the idea of an underground railway in London for several years.
He advocated plans for the demolition of the unhygienic slums which would be replaced by new
accommodation for their inhabitants in the suburbs, with the new railway providing transportation to their
places of work in the city centre. Although he was never directly involved in the running of the Metropolitan
Railway, he is widely credited as being one of the first true visionaries behind the concept of underground
railways. And in 1859 it was Pearson who persuaded the City of London Corporation to help fund the scheme.
Work finally began in February 1860, under the guidance of chief engineer John Fowler. Pearson died before the
work was completed.

The Metropolitan Railway opened on 10 January 1863. Within a few months of opening it
was carrying over 26,001 passengers a day. The Hammersmith and City Railway was opened on 13 June 1864
between Hammersmith and Paddington. Services were initially operated by GWR between Hammersmith and
Farringdon Street. By April 1865 the Metropolitan had taken over the service. On 23 December 1865 the
Metropolitan's eastern extension to Moorgate Street opened. Later in the decade other branches were opened to
Swiss Cottage, South Kensington and Addison Road, Kensington (now known as Kensington Olympia). The
railway had initially been dual gauge, allowing for the use of GWR's signature broad gauge rolling stock and the
more widely used standard gauge stock. Disagreements with GWR had forced the Metropolitan to switch to
standard gauge in 1863 after GWR withdrew all its stock from the railway. These differences were later patched
up, however broad gauge was totally withdrawn from the railway in March 1869.

On 24 December 1868, the Metropolitan District Railway began operating services
between South Kensington and Westminster using Metropolitan Railway trains and carriages. The company,
which soon became known as "the District", was first incorporated in 1864 to complete an Inner Circle railway
around London in conjunction with the Metropolitan. This was part of a plan to build both an Inner Circle line
and Outer Circle line around London.

A fierce rivalry soon developed between the District and the Metropolitan. This severely
delayed the completion of the Inner Circle project as the two companies competed to build far more financially
lucrative railways in the suburbs of London. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) began running
their Outer Circle service from Broad Street via Willesden Junction, Addison Road and Earl's Court to Mansion
House in 1872. The Inner Circle was not completed until 1884, with the Metropolitan and the District jointly
running services. In the meantime, the District had finished its route between West Brompton and Blackfriars in
1870, with an interchange with the Metropolitan at South Kensington. In 1877, it began running its own services
from Hammersmith to Richmond, on a line originally opened by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR)
in 1869. The District then opened a new line from Turnham Green to Ealing in 1879 and extended its West

29


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Brompton branch to Fulham in 1880. Over the same decade the Metropolitan was extended to Harrow-on-the-
Hill station in the north-west.

The early tunnels were dug mainly using cut-and-cover construction methods. This
caused widespread disruption and required the demolition of several properties on the surface. The first trains
were steam-hauled, which required effective ventilation to the surface. Ventilation shafts at various points on the
route allowed the engines to expel steam and bring fresh air into the tunnels. One such vent is at Leinster
Gardens, W2. In order to preserve the visual characteristics in what is still a well-to-do street, a five-foot-thick
(1.5 m) concrete façade was constructed to resemble a genuine house frontage.

On 7 December 1869 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) started
operating a service between Wapping and New Cross Gate on the East London Railway (ELR) using the
Thames Tunnel designed by Marc Brunel, who designed the revolutionary tunnelling shield method which made
its construction not only possible, but safer, and completed by his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This had
opened in 1843 as a pedestrian tunnel, but in 1865 it was purchased by the ELR (a consortium of six railway
companies: the Great Eastern Railway (GER); London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR); London,
Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR); South Eastern Railway (SER); Metropolitan Railway; and the
Metropolitan District Railway) and converted into a railway tunnel. In 1884 the District and the Metropolitan
began to operate services on the line.

By the end of the 1880s, underground railways reached Chesham on the Metropolitan,
Hounslow, Wimbledon and Whitechapel on the District and New Cross on the East London Railway. By the
end of the 19th century, the Metropolitan had extended its lines far outside of London to Aylesbury, Verney
Junction and Brill, creating new suburbs along the route, later publicised by the company as Metro-land. Right
up until the 1930s the company maintained ambitions to be considered as a main line rather than an urban
railway, ambitions that are still continued somewhat today.

30


` First tube lines
4.9

FIG: 4.5
The nickname "the Tube" comes from the circular tube-like tunnels through which the trains travel. Northern
Line train leaving a tunnel mouth just north of Hendon Central station.

Following advances in the use of tunnelling shields, electric traction and deep-level
tunnel designs, later railways were built even further underground. This caused much less disruption at ground
level and it was therefore cheaper and preferable to the cut-and-cover construction method.

The City & South London Railway (C&SLR, now part of the Northern Line) opened in
1890, between Stockwell and the now closed original terminus at King William Street. It was the first "deep-
level" electrically operated railway in the world. By 1900 it had been extended at both ends, to Clapham
Common in the south and Moorgate Street (via a diversion) in the north. The second such railway, the Waterloo
and City Railway (W&CR), opened in 1898. It was built and run by the London and South Western Railway.

On 30 July 1900, the Central London Railway (now known as the Central Line) was
opened, operating services from Bank to Shepherd's Bush. It was nicknamed the "Twopenny Tube" for its flat
fare and cylindrical tunnels; the "tube" nickname was eventually transferred to the Underground system as a
whole. An interchange with the C&SLR and the W&CR was provided at Bank. Construction had also begun in
August 1898 on the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway, however work came to a halt after 18 months when funds
ran out.

4.10 Integration

In the early 20th century the presence of six independent operators running different
Underground lines caused passengers substantial inconvenience; in many places passengers had to walk some
distance above ground to change between lines. The costs associated with running such a system were also

31


`
heavy, and as a result many companies looked to financiers who could give them the money they needed to
expand into the lucrative suburbs as well as electrify the earlier steam operated lines. The most prominent of
these was Charles Yerkes, an American tycoon who secured the right to build the Charing Cross, Euston and
Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR) on 1 October 1900, today also part of the Northern Line. In March 1901, he
effectively took control of the District and this enabled him to form the Metropolitan District Electric Traction
Company (MDET) on 15 July. Through this he acquired the Great Northern and Strand Railway and the
Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway in September 1901, the construction of which had already been
authorised by Parliament, together with the moribund Baker Street & Waterloo Railway in March 1902. The
GN&SR and the B&PCR evolved into the present-day Piccadilly Line. On 9 April the MDET evolved into the
Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL). The UERL also owned three tramway companies
and went on to buy the London General Omnibus Company, creating an organisation colloquially known as
"the Combine" which went on to dominate underground railway construction in London until the 1930s.

FIG: 4.6
The Circle Line and District Line platforms at Embankment station

With the financial backing of Yerkes, the District opened its South Harrow branch in
1903 and completed its link to the Metropolitan's Uxbridge branch at Rayners Lane in 1904—although services
to Uxbridge on the District did not begin until 1910 due to yet another disagreement with the Metropolitan.
Today, District Line services to Uxbridge have been replaced by the Piccadilly Line. By the end of 1905, all
District Railway and Inner Circle services were run by electric trains.

The Baker Street & Waterloo Railway opened in 1906, soon branding itself the Bakerloo
and, by 1907, it had been extended to Edgware Road in the north and Elephant & Castle in the south. The
newly named Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, combining the two projects acquired by
MDET in September 1901, also opened in 1906. With tunnels at an impressive depth of 200 feet (61 m) below
the surface, it ran from Finsbury Park to Hammersmith; a single station branch to Strand (later renamed

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Aldwych) was added in 1907. In the same year the CCE&HR opened from Charing Cross to Camden Town,
with two northward branches, one to Golders Green and one to Highgate (now Archway).

Independent ventures did continue in the early part of the 20th century. The
independent Great Northern & City Railway opened in 1904 between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. It was the
only tube line of sufficient diameter to be capable of handling main line stock, and it was originally intended to
be part of a main line railway. However money soon ran out and the route remained separate from the main line
network until the 1970s. The C&SLR was also extended northwards to Euston by 1907.

In early 1908, in an effort to increase passenger numbers, the underground railway
operators agreed to promote their services jointly as "the Underground", publishing new adverts and creating a
free publicity map of the network for the purpose. The map featured a key labelling the Bakerloo Railway, the
Central London Railway, the City & South London Railway, the District Railway, the Great Northern & City
Railway, the Hampstead Railway (the shortened name of the CCE&HR), the Metropolitan Railway and the
Piccadilly Railway. Other railways appeared on the map but with much less prominence; these included the
Waterloo & City Railway and part of the ELR, which were both owned by main line railway companies at the
time. As part of the process, "The Underground" name appeared on stations for the first time and electric
ticket-issuing machines were also introduced. This was followed in 1913 by the first appearance of the famous
circle and horizontal bar symbol, known as "the roundel", designed by Edward Johnston. In January 1933 the
UERL experimented with a new diagrammatic map of the Underground, designed by Harry Beck and first
issued in pocket-size form. It was an immediate success with the public and is now commonly regarded as a
design classic; an updated version is still in use today.

Meanwhile, on 1 January 1913 the UERL absorbed two other independent tube lines, the
C&SLR and the Central London Railway. As the Combine expanded, only the Metropolitan stayed away from
this process of integration, retaining its ambition to be considered as a main line railway. Proposals were put
forward for a merger between the two companies in 1913 but the plan was rejected by the Metropolitan. In the
same year the company asserted its independence by buying out the cash strapped Great Northern and City
Railway, a predecessor to the Piccadilly Line. It also sought a character of its own. The Metropolitan Surplus
Lands Committee had been formed in 1887 to develop accommodation alongside the railway and in 1919
Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Ltd. was founded to capitalise on the post-World War One demand for
housing. This ensured that the Metropolitan would retain an independent image until the creation of London
Transport in 1933.

33


` The Metropolitan also sought to electrify its lines. The District and the Metropolitan had
agreed to use the low voltage DC system for the Inner Circle, comprising two electric rails to power the trains,
back in 1901. At the start of 1905 electric trains began to work the Uxbridge branch and from 1 November 1906
electric locomotives took trains as far as Wembley Park where steam trains took over. This changeover point
was moved to Harrow-on-the-Hill on 19 July 1908. The Hammersmith & City branch had also been upgraded
to electric working on 5 November 1906. The electrification of the ELR followed on 31 March 1913, the same
year as the opening of its extension to Whitechapel and Shoreditch. Following the Grouping Act of 1921, which
merged all the cash strapped main line railways into four companies (thus obliterating the original consortium
that had built the ELR), the Metropolitan agreed to run passenger services on the line.

The Bakerloo Line extension to Queen's Park was completed in 1915, and the service
extended to Watford Junction via the London and North Western Railway tracks in 1917. The extension of the
Central Line's branch to Ealing Broadway was delayed by the war until 1920.

The major development of the 1920s was the integration of the CCE&HR and the C&SLR
and extensions to form what was to become the Northern line. This necessitated enlargement of the older parts
of the C&SLR, which had been built on a modest scale. The integration required temporary closures during
1922—24. The Golders Green branch was extended to Edgware in 1924, and the southern end was extended
from Clapham Common to Morden in 1926 with new stations designed by Charles Holden.[21] Through
Holden's work as consulting architect, designing new stations during the 1920s and 1930s, London
Underground was modernised and every aspect of design carefully integrated.

The Watford branch of the Metropolitan opened in 1925 and in the same year
electrification was extended to Rickmansworth. The last major work completed by the Metropolitan was the
branch to Stanmore which opened in 1932 and which is now part of the Jubilee Line.

By 1933 the Combine had completed the Cockfosters branch of the Piccadilly Line, with
through services running (via realigned tracks between Hammersmith and Acton Town) to Hounslow West and
Uxbridge. The extension of the Piccadilly line was heavily promoted by London Underground.

34


CASE
` STUDY

London Transport

In 1933 the Combine, the Metropolitan and all the municipal and independent bus and
tram undertakings were merged into the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), a self-supporting and
unsubsidised public corporation which came into being on 1 July 1933. The LPTB soon became known as
London Transport (LT).

Shortly after it was created, LT began the process of integrating the underground
railways of London into one network. All the separate railways were renamed as "lines" within the system: the
first LT version of Beck's map featured the District Line, the Bakerloo Line, the Piccadilly Line, the Edgware,
Highgate and Morden Line, the Metropolitan Line, the Metropolitan Line (Great Northern & City Section), the
East London Line, and the Central London Line. The shorter names Central Line and Northern Line were
adopted for two lines in 1937. The Waterloo & City line was not originally included in this map as it was still
owned by a main line railway and not part of LT, but was added in a less prominent style, also in 1937.

FIG: 4.7
Londoners sheltering from The Blitz in a tube station

LT announced a scheme for the expansion and modernisation of the network entitled the
New Works Programme, which had followed the announcement of improvement proposals for the
Metropolitan Line. This consisted of plans to extend some lines, to take over the operation of others from main-
line railway companies, and to electrify the entire network. During the 1930s and 1940s, several sections of
main-line railways were converted into surface lines of the Underground system. The oldest part of today's
Underground network is the Central line between Leyton and Loughton, which opened as a railway seven years
before the Underground itself.

35


`
LT also sought to abandon routes which made a significant financial loss. Soon after the
LPTB started operating, services to Verney Junction and Brill on the Metropolitan Railway were stopped. The
renamed Metropolitan Line terminus was moved to Aylesbury.

The outbreak of World War II delayed all the expansion schemes. From mid-1940, the Blitz
led to the use of many Underground stations as shelters during air raids and overnight. The Underground helped
over 200,000 children escape to the countryside and sheltered another 177,500 people. The authorities initially
tried to discourage and prevent people from sleeping in the tube, but later supplied 22,000 bunks, latrines, and
catering facilities. After a time there were even special stations with libraries and classrooms for night classes.
Later in the war, eight London deep-level shelters were constructed under stations, ostensibly to be used as
shelters (each deep-level shelter could hold 8,000 people) though plans were in place to convert them for a new
express line parallel to the Northern line after the war. Some stations (now mostly disused) were converted into
government offices: for example, Down Street was used for the headquarters of the Railway Executive
Committee and was also used for meetings of the War Cabinet before the Cabinet War Rooms were completed;
Brompton Road was used as a control room for anti-aircraft guns and the remains of the surface building are
still used by London's University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) and University London Air Squadron (ULAS).

After the war one of the last acts of the LPTB was to give the go-ahead for the completion
of the postponed Central Line extensions. The western extension to West Ruislip was completed in 1948, and
the eastern extension to Epping in 1949; the single-line branch from Epping to Ongar was taken over and
electrified in 1957.

GLC Control

On 1 January 1970, the Greater London Council (GLC) took over responsibility for
London Transport, again under the formal title London Transport Executive. This period is perhaps the most
controversial in London's transport history, characterised by staff shortages and a severe lack of funding from
central government. In 1980 the Labour-led GLC began the 'Fares Fair' project, which increased local taxation
in order to lower ticket prices. The campaign was initially successful and usage of the Tube significantly
increased. But serious objections to the policy came from the London Borough of Bromley, an area of London
which has no Underground stations. The Council resented the subsidy as it would be of little benefit to its
residents. The council took the GLC to the Law Lords who ruled that the policy was illegal based on their
interpretation of the Transport (London) Act 1969. They ruled that the Act stipulated that London Transport
must plan, as far as was possible, to break even. In line with this judgement, 'Fares Fair' was therefore reversed,
leading to a 100% increase in fares in 1982 and a subsequent decline in passenger numbers. The scandal

36


`
prompted Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government to remove London Transport from the GLC's control
in 1984, a development that turned out to be a prelude to the abolition of the GLC in 1986.

However the period saw the first real postwar investment in the network with the opening
of the carefully planned Victoria line, which was built on a diagonal northeast-southwest alignment beneath
central London, incorporating centralised signalling control and automatically driven trains. It opened in stages
between 1968 and 1971. The Piccadilly line was extended to Heathrow Airport in 1977, and the Jubilee Line was
opened in 1979, taking over the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line, with new tunnels between Baker Street
and Charing Cross. There was also one important legacy from the 'Fares Fair' scheme: the introduction of ticket
zones, which remain in use today.

London Regional Transport

In 1984 Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government removed London Transport from
the GLC's control, replacing it with London Regional Transport (LRT) on 19 June 1984 – a statutory
corporation for which the Secretary of State for Transport was directly responsible. The Government planned to
modernise the system while slashing its subsidy from taxpayers and ratepayers. As part of this strategy London
Underground Limited was set up on 1 April 1985 as a wholly owned subsidiary of LRT to run the network.

The prognosis for LRT was good. Oliver Green, the then Curator of the London Transport
Museum, wrote in 1987:

In its first annual report, London Underground Ltd was able to announce that more
passengers had used the system than ever before. In 1985–86 the Underground carried 762 million passengers –
well above its previous record total of 720 million in 1948. At the same time costs have been significantly
reduced with a new system of train overhaul and the introduction of more driver-only operation. Work is well in
hand on the conversion of station booking offices to take the new Underground Ticketing System (UTS)...and
prototype trials for the next generation of tube trains (1990) stock started in late 1986. As the London
Underground celebrates its 125th anniversary in 1988, the future looks promising.

However, cost-cutting did not come without critics. At 19:30 on 18 November 1987, a
massive fire swept through the King's Cross St Pancras tube station, the busiest station on the network, killing
31 people. It later turned out that the fire had started in an escalator shaft to the Piccadilly Line, which was
burnt out along with the top level (entrances and ticket hall) of the deep-level tube station. The escalator on
which the fire started had been built just before World War II. The steps and sides of the escalator were partly
made of wood, meaning that they burned quickly and easily. Although smoking was banned on the subsurface

37


sections of the London Underground in February 1985 as a consequence of the Oxford Circus fire, the fire was
`

most probably caused by a commuter discarding a burning match, which fell down the side of the escalator onto
the running track (Fennell 1988, p. 111). The running track had not been cleaned in some time and was covered
in grease and fibrous detritus. The Member of Parliament for the area, Frank Dobson, informed the House of
Commons that the number of transportation employees at the station, which handled 200,000 passengers every
day at the time, had been cut from 16 to ten, and the cleaning staff from 14 to two. The tragic event led to the
abolition of all wooden escalators at all Underground stations and pledges of greater investment.

38


`

Conclusion

References

39

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