Snow Hill tunnel (Birmingham)
Snow Hill Tunnel is a railway tunnel under Birmingham city centre. It runs 635 yards (580 metres) and links Moor Street station at the south end with Snow Hill station at the north end. It is a key part of the cross-city Snow Hill Lines.
The tunnel opened in 1852, built by the Great Western Railway as part of its London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside main line. It was made with cut-and-cover up to Temple Row, then a deep cutting to Snow Hill. In 1872, the cutting from Temple Row to Snow Hill was roofed over and the Great Western Arcade was built on top.
At the Snow Hill end there was a short siding inside the tunnel and an underground entrance to the Birmingham branch of the Bank of England. The siding carried cash and bullion by train to the bank, used until the mid-1960s. The bank entrance is now sealed.
As traffic grew, the twin-track tunnel became a bottleneck. When Snow Hill station was rebuilt in the early 1900s, widening the tunnel was not feasible because of nearby buildings. The solution was to make Moor Street a terminus at the southern end, so trains from the south could end there instead of Snow Hill.
Snow Hill station was closed during the Beeching cuts in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Southbound services from Snow Hill ended in 1968, and the tunnel was closed to all traffic. The last through train was on 2 March 1968. Trains from the north continued into Snow Hill until the station closed in 1972.
The tunnel stayed derelict for over 19 years until it was reopened in 1987 with a new Snow Hill station. Moor Street station was also rebuilt with two new through platforms beside the tunnel mouth, replacing the old terminus platforms.
Before opening, a charity walk through the tunnel was held for fundraising. The tunnel officially reopened on 5 October 1987, along with the new Snow Hill and Moor Street stations.
Growing traffic later caused a new bottleneck, so two of Moor Street’s terminus platforms were reopened in 2010 to let some Chiltern Railways express trains terminate there instead of Snow Hill.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:39 (CET).