Ordinary brick wall hiding an underground labyrinth

It looks like an ordinary brick wall, but it is actually hiding a secret world.

When you’re approaching the roundabout in Liverpool city centre^[1] that connects Park Lane with Jamaica Street, you can see a brick wall that's seemingly there for no reason. However, it is hiding something that is almost 200 years old and closed off to the public.

This is the Wapping Tunnel, the first underground rail tunnel ever built below a city. The Wapping Tunnel opened in 1830 and ran from Edge Hill to the old Park Lane goods station, between Wapping and Park Road in what’s now the Baltic Triangle^[2] and was used to transport goods across the city when trading on the docks was at its peak.

Recently, the history of the tunnel was covered by Alex Brewster, who runs a TikTok channel called Living Liverpool Tour.

He posted a video about the tunnel earlier this year, which was viewed by over 34,000 people.

Speaking to the ECHO, Alex, 41 from Crosby^[5], said: “I've known it's been that tunnel for years, I just hasn't made a video about it.

“I used to work fairly close by. Originally I assumed it was part of the Northern Line connection but it's too far towards the water.”

The station was demolished in the 1970s but the tunnel entrances can still be seen off Kings Dock Street and near Edge Hill^[6] Station, in addition to the brick wall and a ventilation shaft on Grenville Street South. It's these aspects that make it ripe for a story.

Alex said: “I always had it in my head to do more about this above ground infrastructure and talk about them because you can't legally get down there but you can walk past these chimneys and cuttings.”

As reported by the ECHO previously,^[7] there have been several ideas over the decades of how the tunnel could reopen. In 2016, a study commissioned by Merseytravel looked into whether the tunnel could reopen to connect the Northern and City Lines together, along with the possible creation of a new station along the route to serve the city's Knowledge Quarter.

The report said the Wapping Tunnel was in good condition, although it had suffered flooding in places. It added this would require some remedial work, but the concept of the reopening of the tunnel could be possible. The ECHO has contacted Merseytravel for an update on these proposals.

Alex believes the reopening of the tunnel could be very beneficial. He said: “It's quite logical that, if we needed more train infrastructure, we would have it underground.

“If you think about how Liverpool is now, there's not a need for a goods yard but there is the arena, the Baltic, the Liverpool ONE^[8] area. All of that serviced by a station, running to the Wavertree^[9]/Edge Hill side - that doesn’t currently exist. It could work as a park ride at the end of the M62, getting people down to the arena on a gig day.”

The Wapping Tunnel is one of many tunnels closed off to the public in Merseyside. Others include:

The Liverpool Daily Post newsletter delves into the biggest stories on Merseyside^[10]

Get a free National Trust pass worth up to £50 for your family day out this autumn^[11]

References

1. ^{^} Liverpool city centre (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Baltic Triangle (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^{^} 'I had the same issue with Merseyrail everyday this week' (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^{^} I'm absolutely heartbroken about Bill Kenwright but I wanted to share what he has done for me (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Crosby (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Edge Hill (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^{^} As reported by the ECHO previously, (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Liverpool ONE (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
9. ^{^} Wavertree (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
10. ^{^} The Liverpool Daily Post newsletter delves into the biggest stories on Merseyside (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
11. ^{^} Get a free National Trust pass worth up to £50 for your family day out this autumn (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)