Have you ever felt eyes on you as you ventured towards the connection tube? It’s possible that someone was watching you.
London is famous for its beautiful skyline where past meets present, with world-famous skyscrapers and historic buildings close by.
The capital is also known for its vast and complicated network of tunnels found beneath the surface.
Less shared are the various unused and forgotten tunnels, as hordes of passengers pass through them unknowingly every day.
From 2022, the public was once again allowed to walk through these ancient passages when the London Transport Museum began offering tours of the century, and one TikToker decided to explore one of the old underpasses that time (and Londoners) forgot. .
London’s vast and complicated network is well known, but its centuries-old hidden tunnel in Shepherd’s Bush, which allows unsuspecting travelers to be spied on, is not (pictured: Shepherd’s Bush).
TikToker Dan revealed that Shepherd’s Bush features gray, dusty tunnels that have remained largely unused for centuries.
The content creator revealed that these dusty passages allow unsuspecting passengers to be spied on while they make their daily commute.
Venturing deep into underground London, content creator Dan Thomas decided to take a look at the dusty, unused floors of the hidden tunnels in Shepherd’s Bush.
Although the cobweb-filled tunnels, which were closed a hundred years ago in 1924, are largely useless, Dan revealed that unsuspecting passengers can be spied on through the barred doors.
The main use of these tunnels now is for storage, escape routes or to assist in track construction work.
The giant industrial metal staircases, dangling cables, and dark gray walls are a far cry from the brightly lit, white-tiled tunnels travelers travel through today.
Like its disused tunnels, Shepherd’s Bush station has a rich history, having first opened its doors in 1900.
It formed part of the western terminus, a new section of the London Central Railway, better known today as the Central Line.
The station was a key part of London’s transport, connecting the western suburbs with the city.
At the time, commuters could also travel further west on the same ticket, meaning Shepherd’s Bush station was among the most important hubs for London transport in the early 20th century.
Similarly, the ticket allowing travelers to travel further west by tram at no additional cost paved the way for the Oyster card.
Shepherd’s Bush station was one of London’s most important transport hubs in the early 20th century, connecting the western suburbs to the city (pictured: Sherpherd’s Bush in 1900).
Shepherd’s Bush is not the only place in London with mysterious, cobweb-filled tunnels that have been largely forgotten (pictured: disused tunnel in Down Street – Winston Churchill’s former air raid shelter)
London Transport Museum runs tours of the ghostly Aldwych, Baker Street and Down Street tunnels (pictured: a disused tunnel on Down Street)
Tours of the mysterious unused tunnels of Shepherd’s Bush are currently unavailable, however the London Transport Museum is organizing tours of the forgotten passages in Aldwych, Baker Street and Down Street, which served as an air raid shelter for Winston Churchill during world war II.
However, these are not the only abandoned parts of the London Underground network with a rich history.
Brompton Road station was so little used by commuters that tube drivers passed through it entirely.
Knowing whether a train would stop at Brompton Road confused people so much that it inspired a West End play for a run of 174 performances.
The station first opened its doors in 1906, but only three years later the authorities began to realize that the station was redundant.
But the abandoned transport hub, covered in oxblood tiles, is packed with a wealth of history, having previously acted as a command center during the Blitz.
The station was taken over by Winston Churchill’s War Office and acted as a base for the Royal Artillery to man anti-aircraft batteries to protect London from air raids.
Brompton Road (pictured) was so little used that tube drivers often skipped the stop altogether.
The confusion over whether trains would stop at the station was so great that a West End play was even written about it.
The station closed its doors for the last time in 1934. Since the war, it has been a base for military aspirants.
In 2014, it was bought by Ukrainian developer Michael Spink from the Ministry of Defense for £53 million. When he purchased the property in 2014, Spink said he hoped to redevelop the building into a “very high-quality residential development.”
During the war, rooms were built inside one of the station’s lift shafts, which eventually served as a base for the Royal Artillery.
From the station, gun emplacements were organized across London as they attempted to shoot down German planes flying over the city.
It was even rumored that Hitler’s right-hand man, Rudolph Hess, was interrogated inside by British authorities.
Among the labyrinth of tunnels there are bunkers renovated with remains of electrical equipment from the war.
Preserved are wartime telephone exchanges and a wartime oxygen scrubber, which was present to clean the air in the event of a gas attack.
