• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Junctions in Tunnels

Status
Not open for further replies.

Masboroughlad

Established Member
Joined
2 Mar 2011
Messages
1,560
Location
Midlands
Not sure what made me think of this....

On Network Rail's tracks, are there any junctions located in tunnels?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

urbophile

Established Member
Joined
26 Nov 2015
Messages
2,059
Location
Liverpool
On Merseyrail Wirral line, the line to New Brighton and West Kirby diverges from the Chester line at Hamilton Square. There is also the stock exchange line between Liverpool Central (Northern line) and James Street (Wirral Line)
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Heathrow Central, junction between T4 & T5.

(OK, technically Heathow Airport-owned infrastructure)


On TfL Heavy Rail infrastructure, Stepney Green on Crossrail.
 

GRALISTAIR

Established Member
Joined
11 Apr 2012
Messages
7,806
Location
Dalton GA USA & Preston Lancs
More than I thought - usually it would make sense to me that it is not ideal design to have junctions in tunnels. I suppose the ones under the English Channel are technically crossovers and not junctions - also not owned by Network Rail.
 

trainmania100

Established Member
Joined
8 Nov 2015
Messages
2,566
Location
Newhaven
I think Smithfield CHS is somewhere in the core not sure exactly where but obviously there will be junctions involved
 

Class 170101

Established Member
Joined
1 Mar 2014
Messages
7,908
Liverpool Street High Level now all covered over by buildings on top.

There will be an underground junction at Whitechapel on Crossrail.

Also DLR at Bank amongst other London Underground stations.
 

MotCO

Established Member
Joined
25 Aug 2014
Messages
4,084
Slightly OT, I seem to recall that there is a junction in a road tunnel - this being in the Mersey Tunnel - which is probably unique.
 

alangla

Member
Joined
11 Apr 2018
Messages
1,178
Location
Glasgow
There’s an abandoned junction in the Eastbound tunnel between Partick and Exhibition Centre that used to lead to Kelvinbridge and the Botanic Gardens. This was the route the water took when the Kelvin flooded at Kelvinbridge and left the whole low level line and two 314s almost totally submerged.
 

LNW-GW Joint

Veteran Member
Joined
22 Feb 2011
Messages
19,551
Location
Mold, Clwyd
The approaches into Liverpool Lime St have a series of crossovers in the mile from Edge Hill, in cuttings and tunnel sections.
The immediate approaches into Birmingham New St have junctions starting in the various tunnels.
 

Jamesrob637

Established Member
Joined
12 Aug 2016
Messages
5,205
Not in the UK but the Frankfurt line branches off the high-speed line from Würzburg to Fulda in a tunnel.
 

DJ_K666

Member
Joined
5 May 2009
Messages
620
Location
Way too far north of 75A
St Pancras Thameslink has the junction for the Canal Tunnel in the tunnel north of the station. Also as DerekC says you can see where the Hotel and York Road curves were if you look out of a Northbound train after the old Kings Cross Thameslink station. So much to see out of the window on that line.
 

CyrusWuff

Established Member
Joined
20 May 2013
Messages
3,944
Location
London
Not sure if it counts, given I'd assume they've long since been plain-lined, but the junctions built either side of Highbury & Islington to take the Northbound GN&C away from what is now the Southbound Victoria Line (Platform 5) as part of the construction of the Victoria Line would possibly fit into this category. At the time it would have all been LU infrastructure, mind you.
 

Bald Rick

Veteran Member
Joined
28 Sep 2010
Messages
29,070
Isn't there one somewhere on the approaches to Euston?

Yes, the D.C. lines are both in single bore tunnels from Camden Junction to South Hampstead, and at the Camden end they have each have tunnelled junctions where trains can run to/from the North London Line. That and St Pancras are the best examples I can think of in the spirit of the question, as they are full running junctions, and not just a station approach where the tracks are fanning out.

Crystal Palace Junction is only just in tunnel, and then only part of it for one direction only.
 

FQTV

Member
Joined
27 Apr 2012
Messages
1,067
Slightly OT, I seem to recall that there is a junction in a road tunnel - this being in the Mersey Tunnel - which is probably unique.

Also OT, but there’s technically one in the Limehouse Link in East London.
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,258
Whichever tunnel the Strat*gic Res*rve has been moved to now must have a junction?

More seriously doesn’t the new Kings Cross layout add more junctions than now within the tunnels, some of which are well before the station?
 
Last edited:

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Whichever tunnel the Strat*gic Res*rve has been moved to now must have a junction?

More seriously doesn’t the new Kings Cross layout add more junctions than now within the tunnels, some of which are well before the station?

At King's Cross, the facing crossover to access the North London Line incline / HS1 connection is located within the Slow Line bore of Copenhagen Tunnel.

Gasworks tunnel does not, IIRC, have any S&C located within either bore.
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,258
At King's Cross, the facing crossover to access the North London Line incline / HS1 connection is located within the Slow Line bore of Copenhagen Tunnel.

Gasworks tunnel does not, IIRC, have any S&C located within either bore.
I was noting that the current works provide a load more, ie in all 3 Gasworks Tunnels, and additionally one in the Copenhagen fast.
 

si404

Established Member
Joined
28 Dec 2012
Messages
1,267
Also OT, but there’s technically one in the Limehouse Link in East London.
and nearby there's the underground roundabout at Canary Wharf.

There used to be more than just the one (just an offslip now for safety reasons) in the Queensway tunnel.

They seem to be more tolerated outside the UK but they are rare other than in Norway and the Faroes - both countries loving road tunnels.

With Rail, the safety concerns are far less, so there's a relatively high number of points and such inside tunnels - because it doesn't really make any difference.
 

matchmaker

Established Member
Joined
8 Mar 2009
Messages
1,499
Location
Central Scotland
There’s an abandoned junction in the Eastbound tunnel between Partick and Exhibition Centre that used to lead to Kelvinbridge and the Botanic Gardens. This was the route the water took when the Kelvin flooded at Kelvinbridge and left the whole low level line and two 314s almost totally submerged.

Bad accident there in 1939 - 1 dead, 161 injured. See the Railway Archive Stobcross West
 

InOban

Established Member
Joined
12 Mar 2017
Messages
4,208
If we're including crossovers, there is at least one inside the Glasgow Queen Street tunnel
 

timj

Member
Joined
9 Mar 2014
Messages
52
On the Tyne and Wear Metro there's an underground junction near Manors station where the non-passenger line from Jesmond comes in
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top