Sandilands Tunnel is an ex-railway, brick arch tunnel in south London, currently serving the Croydon Tramway, which cuts through the Park Hill area on the eastern border of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and serves as a key section of the Tramlink route connecting central

, from West Croydon to New Addington.

Location

Sandilands Tunnel is located a short distance from

Sandilands tram stop Sandilands tram stop is a light rail stop in the London Borough of Croydon in the southern suburbs of London. It serves the residential area along Addiscombe Road to the east of the centre of the town of Croydon. Services Sandilands is served ...

in the London Borough of Croydon and is the collective name for three contiguous ex-railway tunnels, routed under the Park Hill area of Croydon. The three tunnels consist of the Radcliffe Road (Woodside) tunnel which is 243 metres long (266 yards), Park Hill tunnel which is 112 metres long (122 yards) and Coombe Road tunnel which is 144 metres long (157 yards). The three tunnels are the only tunnels on the Croydon Tramway Network and can be found at Park Hill Tunnel (Croydon) OS Grid Ref TQ337651 (South portal) & TQ340656 (North portal)

History

Sandilands Tunnel is of brick arch construction and was the main engineering feature The

Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway The Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway (W&SC) was a short, relatively short-lived and unsuccessful railway in the London Borough of Croydon in London, England. Its site is now largely occupied by Tramlink. Route ; Woodside station Ju ...

which opened on 19 August 1885, operating from the South Eastern Railway's

Mid-Kent line The Mid-Kent line (also referred to as the Hayes line by train operators, official bodies and the general public) is a British railway line running from Courthill Loop North junction (just south of Lewisham station) to Hayes railway station in t ...

Woodside Woodside may refer to: Places and buildings Australia *Woodside, South Australia, a town *Woodside, Victoria, a town Canada *Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King *Woodside, Nova Scotia, a neighborho ...

, to a junction with the Croydon & Oxted Joint (

LB&SCR The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

SER Ser or SER may refer to: Places * Ser, a village in Bogdand Commune, Satu Mare County, Romania * Serpens (Ser), an astronomical constellation of the northern hemisphere * Serres, known as Ser in Serbian, a city in Macedonia, Greece Organization ...

) line which had opened on 10 March 1884. Park Hill Tunnel, which is the middle tunnel of the three, linking Woodside tunnel and Coombe Road tunnel, was constructed in the early part of the 20th century as a cut and cover tunnel to manage slipping issues with the previous cutting.

2016 derailment incident

In November 2016, the Croydon tram derailment occurred close to the northern end of the tunnel when a westbound tram did not slow sufficiently to negotiate the left-hand bend and overturned causing several fatalities.

References

External links

London Borough of Croydon 1885 establishments in England Transport in the London Borough of Croydon Railway tunnels in London Light rail in the United Kingdom Railway lines opened in 1884 Modes of transport in London Electric railways in the United Kingdom Standard gauge railways in London Tramlink {{UK-tram-stub