Windsor, Ontario - The "Underwater" Railway: The Tunnel of Death

In October 1910, the Michigan Central Railroad opened a mile-long rail tunnel under the Detroit River linking Detroit, Michigan & Windsor, Ontario.

The tunnel is open to this day and in fact, there's talk of expansion, due to increased trade with NAFTA. However, numbers of illegal immigrants (going in both directions) use the conduit on a regular basis, as a means of avoiding detection from immigration officials on both sides of the border. Unknown to the "illegals", the trip through this tunnel can make the trip across the Rio Grande seem like a Sunday afternoon on the lake. With space at a premium in this 1910 rail tunnel, should a train suddenly appear (as they do with increasing frequency) and the "illegals" are well in the tunnel, there is essentially nowhere to go but under the trains' wheels.

Ironically (and sadly), should these "illegals" make it through the tunnel safely, motion-detectors installed in the tunnel (of which the "illegals" are unaware) have already alerted immigration officials on both sides of the border and they are greeted by these officials as they exit the tunnel on either side.

An additional irony is that this Detroit River crossing (albeit above the water level) was used by countless slaves to find freedom, as it was their last stop on the "Underground Railway" and the beginning of a life of freedom in Canada. [Neil Hodgins, 12/08/2001]