under ground railway
DESCRIPTION
seminarTRANSCRIPT
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,
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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.
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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` 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.
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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
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.
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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.
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
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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 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.
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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 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
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` 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.
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`
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.
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.
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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 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.
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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.
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.
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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
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).
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` 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
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` 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.
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
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` 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).
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.
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` 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)
20D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
21D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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
(numbe
r on
route)
Length Between stations State
Zonal
Railwa
y
Year of
commission
ing
Coordinat
es
Karbude
(T-35)
6,506 met
res
(21,345
ft)
Ukshi BhokeMaharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
1997
17°6′9″N
73°24′59″E
/ 17.1025°
N
73.41639°
E
Nathuw
adi (T-6)
4,389 met
res
(14,400 ft
)
Karanjad
i
Diwan
Khavati
Maharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
1997
17°53′37″
N
73°23′14″E
22D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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` / 17.89361
°N
73.38722°
E
Tike (T-
39)
4,077 met
res
(13,376 ft
)
Ratnagir
iNivasar
Maharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
1997
16°58′48″
N
73°23′42″E
/ 16.98°N
73.395°E
Berdewa
di (T-49)
4,000 met
res
(13,000 ft
)
Adavali VilawadeMaharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
1997
16°53′43″
N
73°36′22″E
/ 16.89528
°N
73.60611°
E
Savarde
(T-17)
3,429 met
res
(11,250 ft
)
Kamathe SavardeMaharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
1997
17°27′35″
N
73°31′19″E
/ 17.45972
°N
73.52194°
E
Sangar
(T-4)
2,445 met
res
(8,022 ft)
Sangar Manwal
Jammu
and
Kashmir
Northe
rn
Railwa
y
2005
23D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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Monkey
Hill (T-
25C)
2,156 met
res
(7,073 ft)
Karjat KhandalaMaharas
htra
Central
Railwa
y
1982
Aravali
(T-21)
2,100 met
res
(6,900 ft)
AravaliSangamesh
war
Maharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
1997
Chiplun
(T-16)
2,033 met
res
(6,670 ft)
Chiplun KamatheMaharas
htra
Konkan
Railwa
y
199717°29′45″
N
73°31′50″E
TABLE: 1
Chapter 4:
4.1 Railroad Construction
24D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
25D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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
26D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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
27D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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).
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.
28D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
29D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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.
30D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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`
4.6 Rolling stock and electrification
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
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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]
4.7 Planned improvements and expansions
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.
32D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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
33D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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
34D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
35D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
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
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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.
4.9 First tube lines
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.
37D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
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.
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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 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
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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.
40D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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
43D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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.
44D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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
45D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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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 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.
46D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
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Conclusion
References
47D.Y.P.C.O.E, AKURDI.PUNE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING