Beneath London, Tunnels and Bomb Shelters to Become Tourist Attractions

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Used for spying, a telephone speech and much implicit the years, a semi-secret web of tunnels successful cardinal London could unfastened to the nationalist successful 2027.

A computer-generated rendering of radical   successful  a purple and bluish  tunnel.
The caller proprietor of a passageway analyzable nether London wants to pull millions of tourists a year. Credit...London Tunnels

Claire Moses

By Claire Moses

Reporting from 98 feet beneath thoroughfare level successful London

April 27, 2024, 5:40 a.m. ET

There’s a locked doorway connected the eastbound level of the Chancery Lane presumption of the London Underground. The doorway is unassuming, sturdy and white.

Behind it is simply a wide acceptable of stairs starring to a astir mile-long maze of tunnels built successful the 1940s that were archetypal intended to service arsenic a World War II structure and aboriginal utilized for espionage, the retention of 400 tons of authorities documents and telecom services.

Welcome to the Kingsway Exchange tunnels, acceptable astir 100 feet beneath thoroughfare level successful the halfway of London, sprawling beneath the Underground’s Central Line. Soon they could participate a caller chapter: Angus Murray, the proprietor of the complex, who bought the tunnels past summer, has applied for readying support to the section authorities unneurotic with the architecture steadfast WilkinsonEyre to crook the tunnels into a tourer destination that could grip millions of radical a year.

Mr. Murray’s London Tunnels is readying to put a full of 220 cardinal pounds (about $275 million) connected restoring and preserving the tunnels, arsenic good arsenic adding exertion for creation installations and different attractions. Mr. Murray hopes to unfastened the analyzable successful 2027, and said that it would beryllium capable to big impermanent creation exhibitions, manner shows and more.

Image

The tunnels were primitively projected by the British authorities during World War II.Credit...THE LONDON TUNNELS

Image

The projected tourer attraction could big creation exhibitions and manner shows.Credit...WilkinsonEyre

At the moment, entering the tunnels requires riding a tiny elevator tucked down a broadside doorway successful an alleyway disconnected a wide thoroughfare successful cardinal London. (Visitors to the attraction would usage a different, bigger entrance, Mr. Murray said.)


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