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Tuesday 10 Sep 2013

Hidden tunnel beneath New Street platforms opens for first time in almost 10 years

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For the first time in almost ten years, a network of tunnels underneath Birmingham New Street station has been opened by Network Rail to allow West Midlands Fire Service to conduct a live training exercise.

Situated just 4m beneath the station’s 12 platforms and spanning 132m in length, the tunnel, which closed in 2004, was previously used for Royal Mail postal trains to transport mail from the station out to regional sorting offices.

Crew Commander Mark Clifton, of Highgate Fire Station White Watch, who organised the exercise, said: “As firefighters we train daily and we were extremely grateful to Network Rail for the chance to test ourselves and our methods in this unusual environment.

“The tunnels were a perfect place to test new breathing apparatus, which can be worn for virtually double the time compared to kit we usually use.

“Around 40 firefighters from seven of our stations were involved in the two-hour exercise, which was based on a rescue scenario.”

Steve Lewis, Network Rail station manager said: “The tunnel beneath New Street is part of the station’s wealth of history and I’m sure the thousands of passengers that travel above have no idea of the maze of tunnels that lie below and across the wider city. We were delighted to be able to offer our colleagues at West Midlands Fire Service the tunnel as an environment for their exercise.”

When the station redevelopment completes in 2015, the tunnel will be used by the station’s train operating companies to access their staff accommodation and also CrossCountry Trains’ national rail catering centre.