Snow Hill Tunnel (London)

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The Snow Hill Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the outskirts of the City of London between City Thameslink and Farringdon stations. It runs under the Smithfield meat market and was constructed just before the construction of the market in the cover design. The opening took place on 1 January 1866.

Was built in the tunnel as part of the Metropolitan Extension on behalf of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway ( LC & DR) in order to those opened in 1863 Metropolitan Railway at Farringdon to connect their tracks on Ludgate - viaduct. As from 1868, the tunnel was connected to the Widened Lines, a parallel route to the Metropolitan Railway. These tracks were in turn connected to the northwest at King's Cross railway station with those of the Great Northern Railway, the station St Pancras with the tracks of the Midland Railway, through tunnels under the respective terminal stations. The Snow Hill tunnel was thus the only rail crossing in the city center of London and allowed several companies to offer through passenger and freight trains.

The tunnel possessed since 1871 via an additional connection eastward to the tracks of the Widened Lines, whereby the operation of the stations Aldersgate Street (now Barbican ) and Moorgate Street ( Moorgate today ) was possible. From the connecting curve also a siding resulted in a goods station under the Smithfield Market. Both the curve and the goods station are no longer in operation.

A tunnel called Snow Hill station was opened in 1874. It enabled a transition to the adjacent railhead Holborn Viaduct of the LC & DR The closure of the station took place in 1916, the tunnel was but still traveled by freight trains. During the First World War, the North-South connection was through the Snow Hill tunnel an important supply route, especially for the fighting in northern France, British Expeditionary Force. Per day perverse average 15 troop trains. While preparing offensives by the number of trains increased to up to 210 daily. Even in 1951 reversed 51 daily freight trains through the tunnel towards the south. The decline in the 1960 volume of goods brought on 23 March 1969 on the closure of the tunnel, 1972, the tracks were removed.

1986 began construction in order as part of the Thameslink route prepare the North-South connection. In 1990, the operation was recorded on newly laid tracks again. As part of the construction work for the new connection of Ludgate Viaduct and railway stations Holborn Viaduct and Ludgate Hill were demolished and replaced by a new access tunnel Snow Hill Tunnel. To make room for the new tunnel, the western end of the street Ludgate Hill and the adjacent crossing Ludgate Circus were raised by several feet.