A campaign to have Transport for London (TfL) take over management of the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels has been launched.

A group of Greenwich residents behind the campaign feel the capital’s transport authority would have “more clout” with contractors and 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.

Two cyclists speeding through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel while a pushchair passes by

The foot tunnels are jointly owned by three different London boroughs. Greenwich partly owns both, and it 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 is a Greenwich campaign group that 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 £4million. The station will reopen to travellers in spring 2026.

TfL would have ‘more clout’

Escalate Now is hopeful the new campaign will be as successful as its last. Group member 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.”

Maureen did give credit to Greenwich Council for the work it had done managing the tunnels over the years, but she thought the authority would welcome the chance to offload the responsibility to TfL.

The south entrance of the Woolwich foot tunnel. Credit: Joe Coughlan

According to Greenwich Council’s own webpage which updates users on the status of the tunnels, the south lift of the Greenwich tunnel has been out of service since September 24. The authority 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 in Greenwich and the south lift in Woolwich are reportedly working.

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

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. It is hopeful 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.”

Greenwich Council also had its say on the campaign, stating 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.

Escalate Now campaigners Karin Tearle (left) and Maureen O’Mara in the southern entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel. Credit: Cameron Blackshaw.

Cllr 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.

“Our focus is on realistic action to deliver for users of the tunnels, in both the short and long term, rather than trying to score political points. 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.”