A once-secret 1940s tunnel complex under the centre of London that housed
military intelligence and linked the cold war hot line phone between
Washington and Moscow has been put up for sale.

(EU) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 17, 2008) REUTERS -

The one mile long network of tunnels below Chancery Lane
underground station was dug in 1942 as a bomb shelter for 8,000 people during
World War Two but was taken over by military authorities as a communications
and intelligence centre.
The Public Records Office used the site, known as Kingsway Tunnels,
after the war to store historic documents.
The Post Office later took over the property as a more secure location
for its long distance phone exchange, including the 1950s hot line directly
connecting the White House and the Kremlin.
When telephony was split from the Post Office, the tunnels passed to
British Telecom, now privatised and known as BT.
In the 1980s the government used part of the complex as a temporary
backup for its top secret Pindar war control bunker.
The tunnels used to be home to trunk exchange which connected long
distance calls before the introduction of the STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling)
code. The site gained notoriety in the 1950s thanks because the "hot
line" between the presidents of the USA and Russia was routed directly
through the exchange.
"There was something like 6,000 telphone lines going through here
but I suppose the most significant one was the hotline between the USA and the
USSR in the 1960's," David Hay, head of Heritage department at BT
said.
But BT says the network of tunnels is now surplus to requirements.
"You have to be practical, we have no further use for it, there is
nothing significant in terms of equipment, we have safeguarded all our
historic equipment to a number of museum around the country, and our heritage
projects, so it's time to dispose of it in the benefit of our customers and
shareholders," said Hay.
Ray Gapes worked in the tunnels as a young switch maintenance engineer
in the 1970's.
"As an 18 year old here this was a very exciting place to work, it
was very interesting, it was unique, BT has a few underground places but
nothing like this and most of our exchanges are above ground, so it was quite
an exciting place to work," Gapes said adding that the tunnels could
become a very good venue for a number of projects.
"I think it would probably make a good document storage facility
because it's got constant temperature and humidity, it would make a fantastic
disco, wouldn't it? Absolutely brilliant, but I don't know about health and
safety, wine storage, I don't know. Art gallery, I don't really know,"
Gapes said.
The tunnels, which are the size of 14 football pitches, include old
engine rooms, a former canteen and a bar.
"It would be very difficult to put a price on it because it's one
of its own, it's a unique type of property but if you think that we are
talking about 70,000 square feet of prime London location, about a mile of
tunnels altogether - this kind of property will not come on the market again
in the near future if at all," said Hay.
Not an obvious property to buy - but those investing in the Kingsway
tunnels will win an additional value - a piece of British history, in the
heart of London.





Sales agent Farebrother said there had already been a lot of interest in
the now disused property.
It has a total floor area of around 7,100 sq metres (76,420 sq ft) but
can only be reached by two street-level lifts, restricting its potential use.

Farebrother partner Niall Gallagher said there had been an
"eclectic" mix of enquiries.
"Private individuals, companies, corporations, government
departments -- we've got the whole spectrum at the moment," he added.