High Street Tunnel

The easternmost of three twin-track railway tunnels which take the North Clyde Line beneath the centre of Glasgow, the High Street Tunnel connects Glasgow Queen Street Low Level Station with High Street Railway Station. It runs to the north of George Street, primarily under buildings which form part of the University of Strathclyde, and then cuts southeast to High Street. The tunnel was built 1883-85 by Messrs Charles Brand & Son as part of the Glasgow City & District Railway and is 610m (2001 feet) in length, 8.2m (27 feet) wide and 5.6m (18 feet) in height. It has a brick lining which is up to 90cm (3 feet) thick.

Most of the tunnel was driven though sandstone, but around a quarter of its length, at its eastern end, was constructed using the cut-and-cover method due to ground conditions. The presence of alluvial silt here, saturated with water, gave rise to movement of the structure in the 1980s which was stabilised through the injection of concrete grout to strengthen the tunnel from beneath. Developed in Japan, this was the first time this jet grouting technique had been used in the UK. The sidewalls in this section were also reinforced.


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