The Greenwich Foot Tunnel crosses beneath the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the ...

, linking

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

(

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

) on the south bank with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

(

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

) on the north. Approximately 4,000 people use the tunnel each day. It opened in 1902.

Design and construction

Greenwich Tunnel facing Canary Wharf, London - Diliff

The tunnel was designed by

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

Sir

Alexander Binnie Sir Alexander Richardson Binnie (26 March 1839 – 18 May 1917) was a British civil engineer responsible for several major engineering projects, including several associated with crossings of the River Thames in London. He was born in London t ...

for

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

and constructed by contractor John Cochrane & Co. The project started in June 1899 and the tunnel opened on 4 August 1902. The tunnel replaced an expensive and sometimes unreliable ferry service allowing workers living south of the Thames to reach their workplaces in the London docks and shipyards in or near the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

. Its creation owed much to the efforts of working-class politician

Will Crooks William Crooks (6 April 1852 – 5 June 1921) was a noted trade unionist and politician from Poplar, London, and a member of the Fabian Society. He is particularly remembered for his campaigning work against poverty and inequality. Early life ...

, who had worked in the docks and, after chairing the LCC's Bridges Committee responsible for the tunnel, later served as Labour MP for

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

The entrance shafts at both ends are beneath glazed

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

s. Lifts, installed in 1904, were upgraded in 1992 and again in 2012, and helical staircases allow pedestrians to access the tile-lined tunnel, which slopes gently from both sides down to a midway lowpoint beneath the river. The cast-iron tunnel is long, deep and has an internal diameter of about . The cast-iron rings are coated with concrete and surfaced with some 200,000 white glazed tiles. The northern end was damaged by bombs during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and repairs included a thick steel and concrete inner lining that substantially reduces the diameter for a short distance. The northern shaft staircase has 87 steps; the southern one has 100.

Upgrade works

Before renovations from 2010 onwards, the attendant-operated lift service was only open from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and 10 am to 5.30 pm on Sundays, with no service on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Staff shortages and other problems meant that even during these times the lifts were often unavailable. Since 1999, if the lift was not functioning, anyone unable to use the stairs could take the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...

between Island Gardens DLR station (close to the northern end of the tunnel) and Cutty Sark DLR station (close to the southern end). However, non-folding bicycles are not permitted on the

system at peak times. Greenwich Council started work to upgrade the tunnel on 19 April 2010, intending to reduce leakage, improve drainage and install new lifts,

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...

, communication facilities and signage. Completion was planned for March 2011 but this slipped to September 2011. The tunnel was supposed to be accessible throughout most of the renovations, but it closed completely in February 2011. Stair use was soon regained but lifts remained out of service until early 2012, and remained subject to occasional brief closures during 2012. In October 2012 Greenwich Council acknowledged that the upgrade work had not been completed on time and had run over budget. The work was finally completed and included new customer-operated lifts with surface level availability signs, CCTV coverage, upgraded lighting and renewal or replacement of vital structural components.

Location

The tunnel links *

town centre on the south bank of the Thames. Its entrance is close to the prow of the restored

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Cl ...

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period ...

''. with * parts of Docklands including

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

on the north bank. The tunnel's northern entrance is within

Island Gardens Island Gardens is a public park located at the southern end of the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames. The park was formally opened on 3 August 1895 by local politician Will Crooks. Th ...

, a park on the southern tip of the

, with views across the river to the former Greenwich Hospital, the

Queen's House Queen's House is a former royal residence built between 1616 and 1635 near Greenwich Palace, a few miles down-river from the City of London and now in the London Borough of Greenwich. It presently forms a central focus of what is now the Old Ro ...

and the

Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in ...

Coordinates

* Greenwich entrance: * Tower Hamlets entrance:

Usage

Plaque on the Southern Entrance Building to Greenwich Foot Tunnel

A notice at the tunnel entrance states that the tunnel is private property (the

manages the Greenwich and

Woolwich foot tunnel The Woolwich foot tunnel crosses under the River Thames in Woolwich, in East London from Old Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich to North Woolwich in the London Borough of Newham. The tunnel offers pedestrians and cyclists an alternativ ...

s on joint behalf of two other partners, the

and the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

) and not a public right of way.

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

maps do not show a right of way on the route of the tunnel. The tunnel is also part of the UK's

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal , Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, Regional route 16, and Regional route 17 in Dover. Leaves Dover passing Dover Castle. S ...

linking

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

. A

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wal ...

, the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The ...

, uses the tunnel to rejoin the southbound part of the path. A 2016 survey showed that around 4,000 people use the tunnel each day. The 'Friends of Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels' (FOGWOFT) was established in September 2013. Following encouragement from FOGWOFT and information from the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

, on 5 July 2016 an interpretative plaque was unveiled near the tunnel's Greenwich entrance by the deputy leader of Greenwich council.

Cycling

Local

bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

require cyclists to dismount and push their bikes through the tunnel, although plans to remove this requirement have been considered. In 2016, an 'active mobility' system was installed in the tunnel to monitor and actively manage tunnel usage. The system used computer vision to count and measure the speed of bicycles and pedestrians, and displayed messages on electronic signs to encourage considerate behaviour. The system (also installed in the Woolwich foot tunnel) displayed two messages: "No cycling allowed" (in red text) during busy periods, and "Please consider pedestrians" (in green text) during quiet periods, aiming to make urban shared spaces safer and more pleasant to use for all. The shared spaces trial was supported by Greenwich council but Tower Hamlets refused permission to update the bylaws and the sign system was discontinued; while some cyclists do ride in the tunnel, cycling is still not permitted. With a continuing impasse in updating the bylaws, FOGWOFT disbanded in March 2021. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021.

Notes

External links

Greenwich Council foot tunnels page

Sound files and video of the tunnel

Greenwich Council official twitter feed with updates regarding lift failures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwich Foot Tunnel Tunnels underneath the River Thames Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Footpaths in London Pedestrian tunnels in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tourist attractions in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Tunnels completed in 1902 Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Greenwich