Calls to reopen Nottingham's disused railway tunnels for tours

Nottingham Victoria station has largely been demolished but the tunnels still run underground

Almost 2,000 people have signed a petition calling for disused rail tunnels beneath a city to be opened for public tours.

The tunnels - formerly part of the Great Central Railway - were used by trains to access Nottingham's Victoria station before it closed in 1967.

Janine Tanner, who set up the petition, has previously run tours of one tunnel but her access was stopped.

Nottingham City Council said the tunnels were "simply not safe".

Ms Tanner, 47, a local historian, said the station had been largely demolished, with parts incorporated into the Victoria shopping centre.

In 2018, Nottingham City Council granted Ms Tanner access to run three tours of the south tunnel with around 25 guests.

She said it was as if time had stood still.

"There's still soot on the floor, there's still soot on the walls, it's not been cleaned up from when it was a railway tunnel," she said.

She said after her third tour the council withdrew their permission.

"The only thing I could get out of them was it's no longer in the council's interest to do the tours any more," she said.

In 2018 Janine Tanner was given permission to run tours of one tunnel

She said seeing the tunnels had been fantastic and she wanted to share the experience with others.

"They're part of Nottingham's history. We've lost the station but the tunnels still exist and a lot of people don't know about them," she said.

"They're hidden under their feet, under the shopping centre, and people should be able to go and see them and experience what they're like."

The station's clock tower was one of the only parts of the station to survive

Her petition calls on the council to resume the tours.

The council said it was not safe to open the tunnels to the public.

"We have concerns about access and exit points, while there are additional difficulties caused by heating pipes running the length of the tunnel and the fact security staff would be required to man doors inside the shopping centre," a spokesperson said.

"Facilitating a tour would also take up a considerable amount of council officer time in its preparation and delivery, and it's hard to justify that presently when teams are so busy with priority projects."