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The Gasworks Tunnel, also historically known as the Maiden Lane Tunnel, is a railway tunnel immediately to the north of King's Cross railway station in London, United Kingdom. It consists of three parallel bores that carry the six tracks of the East Coast Main Line under the Regent's Canal, as well as roads and housing. Each bore is in length and all the tracks are designed to be used bi-directionally.
Each bore was opened separately between 1852 and 1892. In 1977, as part of greater modernisation efforts, the eastern bore was taken out of use and the other two bores were converted to be used bi-directionally. To increase capacity, the eastern bore was reinstated in 2021 as part of a larger upgrade of the station and the entire East Coast Main Line.
The proximity of the tunnels to King's Cross prevents the platforms being lengthened and thus prevents longer trains being used on the East Coast Main Line. An additional challenge is presented by the strong gradient, with a descent of into the tunnel, before ascending at a rate of towards the northern portal; despite this, it was claimed on many documents to in fact be level.
The speed limit in all the tunnels is towards King's Cross and away from King's Cross. All six lines are designed to be used bi-directionally, and all three bores contain points, with the East and Central bores containing a trailing point and the West and Central bores containing a facing point. These points must be used by trains to allow bi-directional access to all platforms except 2, 5, and 7.
On 29 December 1893, a passenger train travelling from King's Cross to Hatfield collided with seven empty coaches that were being shunted into the station to be used in an express service. In his report to the Board of Trade on the accident, railway engineer Horatio Arthur Yorke concluded that it was caused by an unexplained derailment of goods coaches, but that it was exacerbated by poor arrangements for shunting through the tunnels, which he called "hardly satisfactory".
On 4 February 1945, the King's Cross railway accident occurred when a heavy train of 17 coaches weighing approximately hauled by a Class A4 locomotive was unable to achieve the climb through the tunnel, slipped to a standstill and rolled back into the station, killing two passengers and injuring 25 others.
In 1977, the eastern bore was taken out of use and the track bed removed. The closure formed part of the remodelling and rationalisation of the station, and other works included a completely new layout between the tunnels and the platforms, the introduction of bi-directional working in the tunnels, and works to improve headroom at the southern end of the tunnels.
As part of its modernisation program, British Rail also began segregating trains by concentrating the suburban services in the western bore and long-distance services in the central bore. At the time of the eastern bore's closure, it had only ever been used by steam trains, and this had caused significant soot build-up in the tunnel which had to be removed during its renovation and reinstatement.
Because the tunnel sits below residential property, the track bed was built with elastic mats that soaked up vibrations. The works were made more difficult by the presence of third-party construction including piling above the tunnel, as well as the age and conditions within the tunnel. The inside of the tunnel was noisy and dusty with low visibility and mobile phone signal, which all presented extra challenges to contractors.
During a six day closure of platforms 0–6 at Kings Cross railway station on 25–30 December 2020, the throat of King's Cross station was redesigned to incorporate the reopening of the Eastern bore. Overhead line equipment was added to the Eastern bore during this closure, as well as new signalling and waterproofing for the tunnel. Platform zero was rebuilt to align with the bore, with services originally planned to start on 7 June 2021. The first LNER train passed through the tunnel at 07:01 on 26 April 2025, before arriving into the newly built platform zero.
In January 2024, the Gasworks Tunnel and the neighbouring Copenhagen Tunnel became the first in the country to have new signal-boosting technology fitted inside. This stops devices from losing signal and allows passengers to continue calls while travelling through the tunnels. The upgrade was funded entirely by London North Eastern Railway.
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