Campaigners call for Tfl to take over Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels

Greenwich campaign group Escalate Now says that over 4,000 people use the foot tunnels every day, and experience the frustration of the unreliable lifts, which are often broken down.

They point out that for many, a broken lift means complete lack of access: "This is not a minor inconvenience but a significant hardship for the elderly, people with disabilities, those with young children or heavy loads plus commuters who cycle to work." 

The campaigners feel that Transport for London (Tfl) would have “more clout” with contractors than the council and would be able to fix the tunnels’ faulty lifts much faster. However, TfL has said it currently has no plans to take over management of the tunnels.

The foot tunnels are jointly owned by three different London boroughs. Greenwich partly owns both tunnels, and shares ownership of the Greenwich tunnel with Tower Hamlets and the Woolwich tunnel with Newham.

Greenwich council is the sole authority that operates and maintains the two cross-river pedestrian links.

Escalate Now previously put pressure on TfL to replace the escalators at Cutty Sark DLR station. The group’s petition was signed by over 3,500 people and was a success.

TfL closed the station in May to replace all four escalators at a reported cost of £4m. The station will reopen to travellers in spring 2026.

Tfl would have "more clout, more authority and more experience"

Escalate Now is hopeful the new campaign will be as successful as its last. Maureen O’Mara said: “We really think [the foot tunnels] should be within the management of Transport for London because of the cross-borough nature of the transport links.

“Our view is that a body such as Transport for London would have more clout, more authority and more experience to be able to manage cross-river and cross-borough links, rather than one individual cash-strapped London borough. It is time now for TfL to take over.”

O'Mara did give credit to Greenwich council for the work it had done managing the tunnels over the years, but she thought the local authority would welcome the chance to offload the responsibility to TfL.

According to Greenwich council’s webpage which updates users on the status of the lifts at both tunnels, the south lift of the Greenwich tunnel has been out of service since 24 September. The authority reports that it has received the parts to fix it, but it is waiting for an installation date.

The north lift of the Woolwich tunnel has been out of action since August 2022 after being vandalised. Both the north lift of the Greenwich tunnel and the south lift of the Woolwich tunnel are reported to be working.

Questions would likely be raised over whether TfL has the money to take on the tunnels, but Escalate Now has a potential solution. Campaigner Karin Tearle said Tfl could raise the funds needed from its new revenue stream from tolls from the Silvertown Tunnel.

She said: “They’re making a lot of money from those and I think that some of that money should be set aside to fix our active travel links. There are two of them and they are really important. There are no others east of Tower Bridge.”

Escalate Now has launched a petition which has reached nearly 700 signatures. Campaigners hope that both TfL and Greenwich Council will support the proposal, but that isn’t looking likely at this point.

Tfl has "no plans" to take over

In response to the campaign, a TfL spokesperson said: “There are long-standing arrangements in place between the boroughs of Newham, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets for the management of the foot tunnels. While we have no plans to take over the management of the tunnels, we continue to engage in discussions on their operation and work with boroughs to support improvement.”

A spokesperson for Greenwich council responded to the campaign, saying it is “making progress on repairs to both tunnels” and that “TfL have been clear that they are not in a position to take the tunnels on”.

The council also confirmed that it hopes to have both Greenwich tunnel lifts working “in the coming weeks” and large-scale repairs on the Woolwich tunnel will be completed in the spring.

Councillor Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, Greenwich’s interim Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Sustainability and Transport, said: “We have been working to ensure reliable step-free access in both foot tunnels and are making progress on repairs to both tunnels that should see the lifts working soon.

"The lifts are historic assets that require bespoke parts, and this means repairs are particularly complex.

“TfL have been clear that they are not in a position to take the tunnels on. As a council we are seeking to bring together our partner boroughs – who must jointly agree and fund any works – and I hope to meet my counterparts from Tower Hamlets and Newham very soon to discuss how we can secure the long-term future of the tunnels, which will be done in partnership with TfL.

“We will see live online status updates for both tunnels in place before the end of this year, and hope this can be integrated with TfL journey planning.”

However, what matters most to residents is that those status updates show the lifts to be working.

Reporting by Cameron Blackshaw, Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich with additional reporting by Dorothy Stein.

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