The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-28 00:00:00

Metropolitan Railways.

The report to the Metropolitan Board of Works
on the various bills to be promoted in the next ses-
sion of Parliament, for railways and other improve-
ments in the London district, has been drawn up
and presented by their engineer, Mr. Bazalgette. A
professional statement of what lines we may expect
to get, at least, as far as asking for a Parliamentary
licence to ride over us, cut through us, and tunnel
under us, and the probable effect of their various
operations on the metropolis itself, must have con-
siderable interest. There is a certain degree of
public curiosity, also, as to what are the prospects
of the City proper as a place of habitation for the
future. It is becoming doubtful how much of it at
the present rate of destruction will be left. If this
feeling has risen to anything like alarm, the open-
ing passage of the report is somewhat reassuring.
The bills to be submitted during the coming session
for these works—not exclusively railroads, however
—are not so numerous as those of last year, " nor
are the contemplated projects of so extensive and.
costly a character."
Even with this qualification there are 33 bills to
be proposed for the sanction of the Legislature, in-
volving 47 schemes for the metropolis, under which
94 main and branch lines of railway will be con-
structed, or about 104 miles in all. Of other de-
scriptions of improvements 14 different schemes are
contemplated. The whole capital proposed to be
raised and expended by authority of all these acts,
within or for the benefit of the metropolis, is about
£17,000,000. Among all these schemes, only one
—the Eastern Underground Railway—has applied
for powers under a certificate from the Board of
Trade. The following is a brief recapitulation of
the railway schemes to which Mr. Bazalgette's re-
port refers :
" The Metropolis Sewage and Essex Reclamation Bill is
one of the most important of the bills as affecting the
nterosts of the metropolis. Five or six railways are pro-
posed to branch from the principal northern railways in a
northerly direction towards Enfield, Alexandra-park, Chip-
ping Barnet, Rickmansworth, and the suburbs. It is in-
tended to carry one of the branches of the Edgware, High-
gate, and London Railway by open cutting through Fins-
park, which would completely sever and destroy that park.
Branches from the Blackwall Railway into the Isle of Dogs
are again proposed. An underground line to Limehouse is
projected, starting fromthe Metropolitanßailway at King's-
cross. A railway is proposed with a new bridge over the
Thames from the Great Western Railway to Brentford and
Kingston, forming a junction with existing lines at Merton;
also a direct line from Clapham Junction to Kingston.
Three companies seek to connect the railways north and
south of the Thames on the eastern side of the metropolis
by passing under the Thames ; two of them by making use
of the existing Thames Tunnel, and the third by a new
tunnel to be formed under the river near Blackwall. It is
also proposed to lay pneumatic tubes under the bed of the
Thames for a railway from Waterloo Station to Whitehall,
and numerous other minor connecting railways are con-
templated. Some street improvements are proposed to the
Metropolitan Board of Works, and other local improve-
ments are projected. It is also intended to seek powers to
inclose Wimbledon-common." _ _ _

The Select Committee of the House of Lords in
its report on the Railway Bills of last Session, made
some recommendations as to the heavy traffic in
goods and minerals crossing from the north to the
south of the Thames "by lines not passing through
the centre of the m etropolis." This recommenda-
tion, Mr. Bazalgette states, was not provided for by
the bills sanctioned dturing the last session, or only
imperfectly. But thee East London and Thames
Tunnel Railway pro poses now to supply this great
desideratum by supplying in the east of the metropo-
lis a link between the lines on the north and south
banks of the river. TivAe are two other railways
proposing to effect a :similar junction between the
river shores in the sair Le districts of London.

As the Board of W
orks is the only public body
that can represent tt ie whole of the metropolis, it
cannot allow t„l,,e immense district under its charge
to be cut and carve I entirely according to the inte-
rest of 'the great railroad companies. In the acts of
la year the Bo erd took some steps for the protec-
tion of the inters its of the inhabitants of the City.
Without this in iperfect representation, obtained
more by chance I ;ban anything else, and created for
quite a different pt,upose, the residents of the marwould
?:
polis, outside tl le Lord Mayor's jurisdiction,
hear but little of the. changes sweeping over their
property till tocl Sate. Ur. liazalgette recommeas