While working on upgrades, Network Rail and South Western Railway (SWR) engineers have discovered old tunnels and rooms beneath Salisbury station in Wiltshire.

The engineers were upgrading the station forecourt as part of the ongoing £5.3m project which will significantly improve the front of the station.

Last year, the station’s subway was refurbished.

While checking drainage, workers moved an old phone box to the right immediately outside the station entrance.

Moving the phone box exposed sleepers, and when workers lifted them, they uncovered a tunnel leading below the station.

Engineers found a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms. The tunnel runs underneath the station’s platform 4. It then opens into an area with a side room on the right. The primary chamber contains sections of rail repurposed as structural supports for the ceiling.

Workers also uncovered remnants of old signal equipment.

Further investigation has shown that the tunnel was used to move barrels of beer, cider, and other products. Beer and cider were also sold and served at the station.

Even longer ago, green hatch doors were used at the tunnel entrance, with planks were along the steps, to allow the beer barrels to be rolled down with ropes. Eventually, the hatch doors were replaced by planks and sleepers, which remain today.

In the past, Salisbury station occupied a much larger area than it does today. The old Great Western Railway platforms are still in place behind the South Western Railway depot, and the old GWR station building is now a social club.

The station’s Platform 1 contains a building no longer in passenger use, which features a map from the time before the Beecking report brought huge cuts to railway services. Workers have also discovered a room leading to a ladder that goes under the station.

“Discoveries like this prove that there is more to discover about our railway history and make it a fascinating industry to be involved in. We’re intrigued by the tunnel, but on consulting with experts, we’re still no longer clearer to fully understanding where it leads to. It’s an exciting part of Salisbury’s railway heritage and we’re keen to learn more. If you feel you can help with this, be it from a historical perspective or an engineering one, please do get in touch.”

Anna Jipps, Company Secretary for the Railway Heritage Trust