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In London and Merseyside in the UK, which are served by deep underground railway networks, rising water tables are proving an increasing problem, leading to a serious deterioration of track, traction supply and signalling systems. Also in these transport systems there is an increasing demand for an energy efficient and environmentally sustainable comfort cooling system. This paper outlines a novel cooling system that aims to reduce the water table by using the groundwater for ‘free’ cooling the railway network. This paper investigates the potential for cooling the underground network and trains in this way. It uses a purposely-developed mathematical model to show that additional cooling to the existing rolling stock may be provided, by cooling the tunnels within which they operate. It has been shown theoretically, that by cooling the air within the tunnels by 9K, the temperature in the typical carriage operating under peak load conditions will reduce by approximately 6K to a much more acceptable level. Finally the paper identifies areas for further work, that are required in order to realise the preferred way of achieving a sustainable cooling scheme. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]