The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-31 00:00:00

THE MID-LONDON RAILWAY•

Among the various new projects for railways in
the metropolitan district is one which, for itscom-
pleteness, its utility, and its small amount of inter-
ference with the property and thoroughfares of the
metropolis, is:well deserving of attention. We refer
to the Mid-London line. The royal commission
very strongly recommended the construction of what
they termed the inner circle system of railways, and
this is now in course of completion by means of the
Metropolitan, its extensions east and west, and the
Metropolitan District Railway. What are required,
however, in order to complete the system, are com-
munications with the circumference of this circle
of railways. The London and North-Western and
Charing-cross line provide a diameter for the circle
from north to south, and the Mid-London now
proposes in effect to provide the longer axis,
or a line from east to west. A glance at the map of
London will suffice to show that there exist three
great arteries of communication ; one by way of the
New-road and City-road, traversed now by the
Metropolitan Railway ; a second taking a southerly
course by way of Piccadilly, the Strand, and Fleet-
street, partially represented by the Metropolitan
District Railway ; and, lastly, the Oxford-street and
Holborn lines, which are now proposed as the route
of the Mid-London scheme. The line as suggested
extends from a point near the Kensington Station of
the West London line, and terminates by junctions
with the London, Chatham, and Dover, and the
Metropolitan, near Farringdon-street, and in its
course it follows, with more or less of divergence,
the lines of the Uxbridge-road, Oxford-street, Hol-
born, and Snow-hill. Commencing at the west, the
line starts from near the Kensington Station of the ,
West London to Addison-road, where there will be
a junction station to bring the London and North-
Western into connection with the proposed line by
way of the West London. It then passes on under
the -Uxbridge-road to Cumberland-gate, and then,
near Notting-hill Old-gate, it passes under the
Metropolitan Railway and provides a station. Then,
continuing its course, it keeps along the park side of
the road, so as to leave the north side available for
traffic during the construction of the line. There
is a station proposed at Hyde-park-gardens, whence
the line runs to the corner of Park-lane, in Oxford-
street, and then diverges from the road to the south
side of this leading thoroughfare. From this point
of divergence the railway takes a course about a
hundred yards south of Oxford-street, passing
through property of no great value, and avoiding
great interruption to the traffic during the building
of the railway. The proposed line crosses Bond-
street, where a station will be provided, if necessary,
on the south side of Union-street. It then runs
by the north-side of Hanover-square, opening a
new street overhead through Tenterden-street to
llanover-square. Passing along the north side
of Princess-street, it crosses Regent-street, and
provides a station close to the Oxford-circus.
The line is continued south of Oxford-street to
Soho-square, thence it reaches High-street, and
passes over the authorised line of the Charing-cross
and London and North Western, and at this point
there will be a station for Tottenham-court-road,
which can also be used as an exchange station from
the Charing-cross line. Thence the Mid-London
traverses the line of Broad-street and High-street,
widening as it goes the narrow portions of those
streets to GOft. in width. From Drury-lane to Lin-
coln's-inn-fields the course of the railway will be
marked by a new street 60ft. wide over therailway,
which will then pass along the north side of Lin-
coln's-inn-fields to the corner of Chancery-lane,
where there will be a station. The new street will
also be continued from Lincoln's-inn-fields to Chan-
cery-lane, thus providing a second lateral thorough-
fare from Drury-lane to the north end of Chancery
lane. From this point the proposed underground
line runs along the south side of Holborn to the
Middle-row, which is about to be removed by the
Metropolitan Board of Works ; and it is proposed
that this portion of the railway shall be made simul-
taneously with the demolition and removal of this I
obstructive block of houses. From Middle-row the I
line passes down the centre of llolborn-hill, where
it is 120 ft. in width, to the corner of Ilatton-gar-
den, and thence follows the course of the new street
to be made by the corporation in connection with
the Holborn-valley viaduct, and effects a junction
with the London, Chatham, and Dover near Far-
ringdon-street, and also joins the authorised con-
nection with the Metropolitan Extension to Fins-
bury. The company propose taking running powers
over the Metropolitan to Finsbury and Tower-hill,
and also over the City lines of the London, Chat-
ham, and Dover to Ludgate. The line will be under-
ground, some portions in tunnel, others in covered
way, the average depth being about 20ft. below the
surface. The stations will be roofed with glass and
lighted from the road. The estimated cost of the
work is £2,500,000, and the length of line, exclusive
of the connecting branches, is 51 miles. The rail-
way has been laid out so as to avoid as much as
possible interference with the traffic of the leading
thoroughfares, and the purchase of valuable pro-
perty ; while it offers ample compensation to the
public for any inconvenience caused during con-
struction, by providing several new streets in parts
where they are much needed. There is abundant
traffic for this metropolitan railway in the districts
above mentioned, and its construction would doubt-
less be of great public advantage.—Railway News.