Mersey Tunnels

Mersey Tunnels

Headquarters	Liverpool
Area served	Liverpool, Wallasey, Birkenhead
Parent	Merseytravel Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Website	merseytunnels.co.uk

Mersey Tunnels Act 2004

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend provisions of the County of Merseyside Act 1980 relating to the levying, revision and application of tolls for use of the Mersey Tunnels and to amend that Act for other purposes.
Citation	2004 c. ii
Dates
Royal assent	1 July 2004
Other legislation
Amends	County of Merseyside Act 1980
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Mersey Tunnels connect the city of Liverpool with Wirral, under the River Mersey. There are three tunnels: the Mersey Railway Tunnel, opened 1886, and two road tunnels, the Queensway Tunnel, opened 1934 and the Kingsway Tunnel, opened 1971. The railway tunnel and Queensway road tunnel connect central Liverpool with Birkenhead, while the Kingsway road tunnel runs to Wallasey.

The road tunnels are owned and operated by Merseytravel, and have their own police force, the Mersey Tunnels Police. In 1967 it was announced that the "Mersey Tunnel Scheme" was now operational.^[1] The scheme comprised what was claimed to be the largest closed circuit television system for traffic control outside North America, and featured a bank of 22 CRT monitors.^[1]

The Queensway Tunnel was used to film scenes for the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 from 2010. This provided Claire House children's hospice in Wirral with a £20,000 windfall, the money being paid to Merseytravel by Warner Brothers, the makers of the film, for use of the Tunnel as a location.^[2]

In November 2012 scenes for the 2013 film Fast & Furious 6 were filmed in the Queensway Tunnel.^[3]

There is an annual 10k run that passes underneath the Mersey via the Kingsway Tunnel. This is the only time during the year when one can travel through the tunnel on foot. In 2024, more than 2,000 people registered to take part in the event.^[4]