Copenhagen Tunnel
| Copenhagen Tunnel | |
|---|---|
Copenhagen Tunnel southern portals | |
Interactive map of Copenhagen Tunnel | |
| Overview | |
| Line | East Coast Main Line |
| Location | Barnsbury |
| Coordinates | 51°32′45″N 0°07′14″W / 51.5457°N 0.1206°W |
| OS grid reference | TQ 30404 84602 |
| Status |
|
| System | National Rail |
| Start |
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| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator | See East Coast Main Line § Operators |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Thomas Brassey |
| Length | 594 yd (543 m) |
| No. of tracks | 4 (6 until 1977) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Electrified | 25 kV 50 Hz AC |
The Copenhagen Tunnel is a railway tunnel in London, United Kingdom, that is situated approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) down the East Coast Main Line from London King's Cross railway station. It comprises three twin-track bores, of which only the central and western have been in use since the remodelling of Kings Cross in 1977. Passenger trains travel through the slow lines in the western bore at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) and through the fast lines in the central bore at 60 miles per hour (97 km/h); this speed limit is reduced for other train categories.
The tunnel was situated at the end of Thomas Brassey's contract to build the Great Northern Railway between London and Peterborough. It originally only comprised one bore but a second was added in 1877 and a third in 1886. The western bore is elevated above the others to allow the Holloway Flyover to begin immediately after the northern portals, which converts the four tracks into being quadrupled by direction instead of speed heading northbound.