The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-02 00:00:00

The Metropolitan Railway schemes.

The report of the joint committee of both Houses
of Parliament appointed to consider the host method
of dealing with tho railway schemes proposed to be

earctioned within the limits of the metropolis states

that

"Thee railway schemes that have been referred
for the consideration of the joint-committee are of
extraordinary magnitude for so limited an area as

tEc metropolitan railway district, extending over a

length of 174 miles in the aggregate, involving the
raising a capital of nearly £33,000,000 in shares
and of £11,030,000 by loan, creating alarm among
the holders of a vast amount of property, and in-
terfering, daring the construction of the proposed

works, with many important public thoroughfares.

They include the construction of not less than four
new railway bridges across the Thames, two of

th€m of gigantic size below London-bridge. It is
stated by the surveyor to the Commissioners of
Sewers of the city of London that the lands and
bui:dings scheduled in tho city of London for the

proposed railway schemes comprise about one-fourth
of the:entire area of the city.
"The committee are of opinion that the:following
bills or parts of bills should not be proceeded with
daring the present session :—Victoria Station and

'Thames Embankment, Oxford-street and City,
I indon Main Trunk, Underground Metropolitan
Grand Union (the portion south of Thames-street),
C.aring•cross (Northern), Charing-cross (Western),
London Union, Metropolitan District (a portion
forming the outer circuit), Tottenham and Far.
ringdon-street.
" The committee recommend that the fees which
have been incurred in respect of the said bills be
remitted.

"The two first.named of these lines are proposed

to be worked on the pneumatic principle—a prin-
ciple hitherto untried as applied to railway passen-
ger carriages, and it seems undesirable that the
experiment should first be made in an important

public thoroughfare. They ore passenger railways,
and are intended to relieve the streets of omnibus

end cab traffic. The necessity for any such lines has
been to some extent lessened, supposing the rail-
ways form;ng the inner circuit scheme referred to
in a subsequent part of this report be sanctioned.
" The London Main Trunk Underground Rail-
way proposes to provide a more central station for
tam- Great Eastern, an object which is also sought
to be at-omplished by the Great Eastern itself by
the Gre,At
Eastern Metropolitan Station and Rail-
way Bill. The Select Committee of the House of
Lords on me.'ropolitan railway communication of
last Session recot: mended that the Great Eastern
should be allowed to
•stablish a more central sta-
.
tion than it has at presex.
" The portion of the MeL`.repolitan Grand Union
south of Thames-street which he committee recom-

. _
men :I should not be proceeded with involves a high-
level bridge over the river below London-bridge.
The connexion between the railways north and
'oath of the river at the end of the marcpolis might,
it appears to the committee, be better effected by
the East London through the Thames Tunnel and
the proposed abandonment approved by the pro-
moters, and the committee recommend that they
should be allowed to amend their estimate, and be
Termittcd to withdraw a portion of their deposit.
" Three schemes on this list, the Charinpeross
(Western), the London Union, and the portions of
the metropolitan district railways proposed to be
positponed, in addition to other objections, require
the coaetruction of bridges across the Thames, one
of them being a high level bridge below London-
bridge.

It is further to be observed with reference to I
these schemes that railway communication between
the lines north and south of the Thames already
exists on the Westminster side of the metropolis by
means of the West London and West London ex-
'frnsions railways, and another line is in course of
construction through the centre of London by the
London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, which when
'completed will unite their south London system
ith. the Metropolitan Railway at Farringdon-
street, thereby giving them a communication with
the Great Northern line, and thus of necessity con-
necting the Charing-cross and South Eastern Rail-
ways at Charing-cross with any of the main lines
the north, as proposed by any of the last-men-
Caved schemes is not urgent.
"'4 he Tottenham and Farringdon-street Railway,
by which it is proposed to connect the Cambridge
line of the Great Eastern with the station at Far-

ring,loa•street is open to the same objection urged
agairLit the Charing-cross (Northern), and the
Tottenham and Hampatead (extension to Charing-
cross) in that it tends to create a great central
station, inastouch as the Great Northern, the Mid-
land, and the London, Chatham, and Dover Rail-
way, are already brought in direct station commu-
nication with the Metropolitan Railway at Far-
ringdon-street. As the Great Eastern Railway is
another scheme for an approved station, which the
committee recommend should proceed, it appears
desirable that this bill should be postponed, at all

events until it can be known by experience whether
any inconvenient amount of traffic will be concen-
trated at Farringdon-street by the lines already to
meet there.
" The estimated capital required for the construc-
tion of the schemes above proposed to be postponed
amounts to 118,300,000 in the aggregate, exclusive
.of what was proposed to be raised by loan for the
purpose of the undertaking. The remainder of the
sum of estimated expenditure above referred to may
be expected to be reduced by the rejection of some
of the schemes allowed to proceed.
" Without expressing any opinion as to the merits
of the following bills, the committee recommend
atria they should be proceeded with in the ordinary
course, being only improvements of existing lines or
works connecting links of a very limited extent, for
enlargement oflstations in no way conflicting with
any comprehensive system of metropolitan railways
—viz., Great Northern and Victoria Station, Lon-
don and Blackwall (Extension) ; London, Brighton,
and South Coast (new lines in Battersea); Great
Northern (No. 1, Barnet branch) ; London and
North Western (additional powers): London and
South Western (additional works) ; North London
(additional powers); London, Chatham, and Dover
(No. 2); Great Eastern (junctions, except junction
No. 3); Midland and St. Pancras branch; Metro-
politan (additional powers).
" The committee also recommended that the Me-
tropolitan and St. John's Wood should be allowed
to proceed, as it is a line that passes through a not
very populous but increasing district without inter-
fering with much
property,
The committee might
and in no way compet-
. with any other Scheme
Hera remark that it is proposed to be constructed as
a single line only.
"The committee also recommend that
mersmith, Midland, and North Western
•
d Cha
to ano
ring-cross Junction shall be allowedrnt,
the Ham-
an
This scheme is in some degree open
already referred to, that it tends to createl Jection
Proceed.b
central
station at Charing cross. It, however pro
addition to the railway, which is to be conP:taeste:i
wholly in tunnel, to form three new streets rotlace—f
them of a very important character, in continuation,
of Tottenham-court-road from Oxford-street, in a
direct line to St. Martin's-lane, near Aldridge's Re-
pository, and from thence to the Thames Embank-
ment, near Chariug-cross Railway Station. This
new thoroughfare would be a substitute for the pre-
sent objectionable road through Seven-dials and
High-street, St. Giles, and be a great public im-
provement. The combination of new streets in
crowded parts of the metropolis, with the construc-
tion of new railways, was recommended in the re-
port of the Lords' Committee last session. The com-
mittee are of opinion that if the select committee to
which the bill for these schemes may be referred
should see fit to sanction the scheme they should do
so only on condition that the new streets above
referred to should be constructed cotemporaneously
with the railway, and that provision should be made
in the bill for insuring its completion.
" The committee concur in the opinion expressed
by the select committee of the House of Lords on
metropolitan railway communication last session in
their third report, that, with a view to the distri-
bution of passenger traffic arriving by the main
lines of railway coming within the metropolis, and
also the relieving the crowded streets by the ab-