Primrose Hill Tunnel

Primrose Hill Tunnel
1837 watercolour engraving of the eastern portal before duplication
Overview
LineWest Coast Main Line
LocationPrimrose Hill, Camden, London, England
SystemNational Rail
Operation
Work begun1834
Opened1838
OwnerNetwork Rail
Technical
Design engineerRobert Stephenson and William Budden
Length1,164 yards (1,064 m)
No. of tracksDouble track in each bore
Track gaugeStandard gauge
Electrified25 kV AC OHLE
Listed Building – Grade II
Official namePrimrose Hill Tunnels (Western Entrance)
Designated14 May 1974
Reference no.1246989
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official namePrimrose Hill Tunnels (Eastern Portals)
Designated14 May 1974
Reference no.1329904

Primrose Hill Tunnel is a 1,164-yard (1,064 m) railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from Euston station. It is located in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, just north of Primrose Hill park and consists of two bores: the slow line to the northern side, driven through the London clay by the engineer Robert Stephenson for the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838, and the fast line to its south, added by the London and North Western Railway in 1879. The original tunnel's Italianate portals were designed by William Budden and later replicated for the fast line. The western portals have been listed at Grade II[1] and the eastern at Grade II* since 1974.[2]

As the first railway tunnel in London, Historic England considers it to be of special historic interest, as well as because "it was the first nationally to negotiate the issue of competing claims for the use of land in an urban context; and the first tunnel to treat one of its portals architecturally".[2]

  1. ^ Historic England. "Primrose Hill Tunnels (Western Entrance) (Grade II) (1246989)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Historic England. "Primrose Hill Tunnels (Eastern Portals) (Grade II) (1329904)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 January 2021.