Chipping Sodbury Tunnel

Chipping Sodbury Tunnel is a railway tunnel that sits on the South Wales Main Line in England.

Ventilation shaft near Badminton

The tunnel was constructed around 1897-1903 for the South Wales and Bristol Direct Railway.[1] It runs under the Cotswold Hills some 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) west of Badminton railway station and Chipping Sodbury Yard.

The tunnel is constructed with an arch brick lining and measures some 27'6" across and 20'9" high. The bricks were made from clay excavated from the tunnel.[2] It slopes at a 1:300 gradient from Badminton falling in a westerly direction towards Chipping Sodbury. Above the tunnel are a series of six ventilation shafts, which were used during construction to remove soil. The places where they reach the surface are circular brick vents between 4 metres (13 ft) and 8 metres (26 ft) high with castelations around the top. They are all Grade II listed buildings.[3] The brick built east and west portals of the tunnel are also listed.[4][5]

The tunnel cuts through major water conduits and springs and is therefore prone to flooding.[6] The route via the tunnel is closed on a regular basis, resulting in the cancellation and diversion of passenger and freight services.[7] Various plans have been drawn up to improve the flooding situation and pipes to achieve a gravity dranage system involving 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) of pipes was chosen.[8]

As part of the modernisation of the Great Western main line, the route through the tunnel closed from 19 August to 15 September 2017 to allow work to fit overhead electrification equipment via 4,064 holes in the roof,[9] and reduce the risk of flooding.[10][11][7] This included the expansion of the stormwater lagoon to hold 11,000,000 litres (2,400,000 imp gal; 2,900,000 US gal).[12]

Coordinates
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References
  1. "Sodbury Tunnel". Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  2. "VCH Gloucestershire 14, Old Sodbury Draft" (PDF). Institute of Historical Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. "Six Vent Shafts above Chipping Sodbury Tunnel (SWB10264)". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  4. "Chipping Sodbury Tunnel West Portal (SWB10348)". National Heritage List for ngland. Historic England. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. "Chipping Sodbury Tunnel East Portal (SWB10106)". National Heritage List for ngland. Historic England. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  6. "Evening Meetings 2004". British Tunnelling Society. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  7. Milne, Andy. "Chipping Sodbury Tunnel – A saturated environment". Rail Engineer. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. "Polypipe Provides the Solution for Chipping Sodbury Tunnel Flooding" (PDF). Polypipe. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  9. "Chipping Sodbury Tunnel" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  10. "Great Western Rail upgrades affecting south Wales begin". BBC News Online. 19 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  11. "August work set to bring new trains to Wales and the West". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017. Swindon to Bristol Parkway - Piling will take place to install overhead line equipment (OLE) for electrification, alongside OLE installation through Chipping Sodbury and Alderton tunnels. This August there will also be flood resilience upgrades at Chipping Sodbury
  12. "Upgrading the railway through Bristol Parkway" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
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