The London Underground is the oldest underground railway system in the world. Beyond its role as a means of transport, it served a far more critical function during the Second World War: throughout the London Blitz, the Underground's tunnels were pressed into service as air-raid shelters. They not only preserved the lives of thousands of civilians, but also stood as a testament to the organization, discipline, and quiet courage displayed by Londoners under fire.
倫敦地鐵是世界上最古老的地下鐵系統，除了作為交通工具外，在二戰時的「倫敦大轟炸」期間更充當防空洞之用，不僅保存了成千上萬平民生命，還展示出倫敦市民在戰火下的組織力、紀律與人性光輝。
A Secret Wartime Base
Because they offered protection from aerial bombardment, a number of Underground tunnels were repurposed as bases for the government's wartime Special Operations Executive. During the Cold War, these spaces were taken over to house a secret long-distance telephone exchange. The most famous of these wartime secret tunnels lies 30 meters beneath Holborn station — two parallel tunnels, each five meters wide and 400 meters long, capable of sheltering as many as 8,000 people.
由於免受空襲威脅，不少地鐵管道亦被改建成政府戰時特別行動處基地；冷戰時期由秘密長途電話交換局接管，其中最著名的一個戰時秘密隧道，位處Holborn站地下30米，兩條平行的隧道，每條闊5米、長400米，可容納多達8千人。
A New Lease on Life
As communications technology advanced, the Holborn tunnels gradually outlived their usefulness. But in 2023, London Tunnels Ltd. purchased the site from British Telecom and announced plans to invest £200 million in transforming the space into a tourist destination — one projected to attract more than four million visitors annually.
通訊科技進步，Holborn「地下道」已無用武之地。然而London Tunnels Ltd.在2023年向英國電信公司手中購入這裡後，將會斥資2億英鎊進行改建成，變身成旅遊點，預計每年將有超過4百萬遊客造訪。
From Spy Bunker to Tourist Attraction
When the project is complete, the Holborn tunnels — which are said to have inspired Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novels, in his storytelling — will be reborn as a destination combining an espionage and intelligence museum, a Second World War memorial, and an underground bar. The entire development is scheduled to open to the public in 2028, and seems destined to become one of London's most distinctive attractions, blending genuine historical resonance with commercial appeal.
屆時這個曾啟發007作者創作故事的Holborn地下道，將會變為集間諜情報博物館、二戰紀念館及地下酒吧等的景點，整個計劃將於2028年向外開放，勢必成為倫敦其中一個結合歷史感與商業的景點。你對這個深潛地下的建築會感興趣嗎？