video Oddly Enough
London's underground mail rail re-opens after 14 years
Tuesday, August 08, 2017 - 01:51
A never seen before underground mail network is set to open to public in London, 14 years after it closed down. Rosanna Philpott reports.
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These modern day Londoners might communicate with text or emails. But in the 1900s messaging here was done underground using London's abandoned 'Mail Rail', until now hidden to the public. A network of postal tunnels and trains built in 1913, nestled in-between London's tube lines, underground rivers, sewers and World War 2 bomb shelters. Closed for over a decade, in its heyday it ferried more than 4 million letters every day between Paddington and White chapel. With up to eight deliveries a day you could send your friend a message at breakfast and be meeting for Lunch at midday. It was a world-first: there had been no previous electric railway with driverless trains. But as postage systems changed, many sorting offices closed and the mail rail became redundant. Old trains went to what engineers here call the 'train graveyard'. Now the tunnels are opening to the public for the first time - With new trains for visitors to ride and a Postal museum But that's just one part and the majority of the line is still blocked off and unused, though many have tried to get involved.
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London's underground mail rail re-opens after 14 years
Tuesday, August 08, 2017 - 01:51
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