Southampton Tunnel

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Southampton Tunnel

Engineering works at Southampton Tunnel, December 2009 to January 2010
Overview
Line	South West Main Line
Location	Southampton, Hampshire
Coordinates	50°54′25″N 1°24′28″W / 50.90694°N 1.40778°W / 50.90694; -1.40778
Operation
Work begun	1845
Opened	August 1847
Owner	Network Rail

Southampton Tunnel (alternatively known as the Southampton Civic Centre Tunnel) is a 528-yard railway tunnel that runs close to the Civic Centre in the centre of the Hampshire city of Southampton, in England.

The tunnel was constructed by the Southampton and Dorchester Railway to enable the Southampton and Dorchester Railway to pass through Southampton and join the London and Southampton Railway. Southampton West End station, subsequently relocated and presently known as Southampton Central lies to the West of the Tunnel. The experienced civil engineer Samuel Morton Peto acted as contractor for the works with the majority of the tunnel being constructed using traditional cut-and-cover techniques. Its route cut through that of the Salisbury and Southampton Canal, an incomplete project that had partially built an earlier tunnel; the presence of this earlier engineering work would negatively impact the project due to the prior disturbance of the ground. The tunnel suffered a collapse during construction, and subsequent movement of the structure delayed its opening until two months after that of the rest of the line, being finally opened to traffic for the first time during August 1847.

Carrying a pair of tracks throughout its length, it has been periodically operated as a single-track only tunnel while remedial or improvement work was performed. Southampton Tunnel has been used by a variety of direct passenger services connecting the South Coast with London and the North. In addition, the tunnel has facilitated large amounts of freight movement to and from the Southampton Container Terminal and the rest of the UK. During 2009–10, it was subject to extensive re-engineering works, successfully raising both its loading gauge and maximum speed for container traffic.