The Barnet Tunnel is a

railway tunnel Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

in north London on the East Coast Main Line. It has also been known as East Barnet Tunnel, Whetstone Tunnel, and Oakleigh Park Tunnel.

Location

The tunnel is in

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough ...

in north London. It passes under Russell Lane which joins Oakleigh Road North to Brunswick Park Road. The station to the north of the tunnel is Oakleigh Park (1873) and to the south, New Southgate (1850). Immediately to the north of the tunnel is

Oakleigh Park Rail Cutting Oakleigh Park Rail Cutting is an Site of Nature Conservation Interest, Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation in Oakleigh Park in the London Borough of Barnet. It is on the East Coast Main Line between Oakleigh Park railway station an ...

between the tunnel entrance and Oakleigh Park station.

History

The tunnel was built as part of the Great Northern Railway from 23 April 1849. It is 605 yards in length. It is now called Barnet Tunnel, but has also been known as East Barnet Tunnel and Whetstone Tunnel. It was known as Barnet Tunnel in the Great Northern Railway guide for 1912 but the

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

called it Oakleigh Park Tunnel. It reverted to Barnet Tunnel under British Rail.Dawes, Martin C. (2003) ''The end of the line: The story of the railway service to the Great Northern London Cemetery''. Barnet: Barnet and District Local History Society. p. 90.

Accidents

New Southgate locomotive derailment geograph-2261880-by-Ben-Brooksbank

In 8 May 1857, a partial derailment of a goods train took place as the train was entering the tunnel. There were no deaths. At 6.00 AM on 17 July 1948, locomotive No. 60508, ''Duke of Rothesay'', was hauling a passenger train from

Edinburgh Waverley Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...

when it began to derail inside the tunnel due to a combination of faulty track and excessive speed. The whole train was subsequently derailed on points at New Southgate. The driver was only slightly hurt but the fireman was killed after he escaped from the engine but was hit by the following carriages. Ten passengers were injured, none seriously."New Southgate Train Crash"

David Berguer David Ian Berguer (born October 1939) is a British local historian and author, and the chairman of the Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. His books include ''The Friern Hospital Story'' (2012), the story of the former Colney Hatch As ...

, ''Friern Barnet Newsletter'', No. 29 (April 2007), pp. 1-2.

References

External links

{{coord, 51.6295, -0.1582, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Railway tunnels in London Whetstone, London East Barnet Oakleigh Park 1849 establishments in England