London's underground mail rail re-opens after 14 years

Record ID: 905907

  • Title: London's underground mail rail re-opens after 14 years
  • Date: 8th August 2017
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 7, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF THE POSTAL MUSEUM AND MAIL RAIL, ADRIAN STEEL, SAYING: "The tunnels prove very useful in the First World War for storing heritage and artefacts in the Second World War. The important thing was to keep the mail moving especially during nights of the blitz where transport above ground was being disrupted, so it wasn't a case of using the tunnel for shelter or stopping the service. The main thing was to keep it going."
  • Embargoed: 22nd August 2017 15:33
  • Keywords: Postal Museum London Mail Rail
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0096TANNFD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART MUTE AND CONTAINS MATERIAL ORIGINALLY 4:3
    A never seen before underground mail network is set to open to public in London, 14 years after it closed down.
    The hidden maze of tunnels which opened in 1927 reportedly boasted the first electric-powered rail lines in the world. The pioneer service was set up to try and beat congested London roads which in the 1920s were filled with horse and carts. Shut in 2003, the Mail Rail had eight stations in its heyday and 6.5 miles of track going from Paddington (west London) to Whitechapel (east London).
    The small red trains, which were originally mainly driverless and exclusively for the transportation of parcels and letters moved post between the main London sorting offices. Today the revamped network will carry people and have a driver for the first time.
    The 15-minute round trip, using special tourist trains, will move around the museum area while the rest of the long network will remain shut.
    The initiative came from Postal Heritage Trust, a charity organization which launched the new Postal Museum last July at a disused printing factory in Clerkenwell.
    The Mail Rail is set to open to tourists on September 4 it's located across the street from the new museum and underneath the Mount Pleasant Royal Mail sorting office.
    "Royal Mail still has an obligation to maintain the whole of the tunnel network under London under the legislation that was introduced to build mail rail a 100 years ago - and they still maintain a couple of engineers on their staff to do just that", told Reuters Adrian Steel, director of the Postal Museum and Mail Rail.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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