The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-07 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

On Wednesday morning, the branch railway from the
Bricklayers' Arms station to Folkestone and Dover was
opened, in due ceremony, to the public.
The entire line of the Bristol and Exeter Railway was
opened on Wednesday in the usual manner by the direc-
tors.

GREAT NORTH Or ENGLAND RAILWAY.—A. special
meeting of this company was held on Tuesday, when it
was agreed to raise a further sum of £300,000 by the
issue of 7,500 new shares of £4O each.
RAILWAY BILLS.—In the House of Commons, on
Friday night, the Leeds and Selby Purchase, the Poutop
and South Shields, and the Newcastle and Darlington
Junction, and the Tyne Bridge Railway Billti were read a
third time and passed.

MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL RAILWAY COMPANY.
—The junction of this railway 'with the Leeds and Man.
chester, which took place on Saturday, will form an im-
portant epoch in railway annals. It is notorious that
hitherto on this railway there have been no third class
carriages, and even those known as the second class have
been the shabbiest and the least calculated for the public
comfort of any in the kingdom ; both these matters of just
complaint are about being redressed, thanks to the la-
bours of the House of Commons Railway Committee.
There are to be third class carriages, and the fare will, it
is reported, be moderate, and the present second class car-
riages wilt be converted into the low fared ones, whilst the
second will be constructed with some regard to the com-
fort of the passengers, a thing hitherto unknown on this
line.

RAILWAY STATISTICS.—The extent of railways already
constructed and in operation in the united kingdom is
2,000 miles; the sum which has already been actually ex-
pended in their formation is no less than £79,000,000
sterling ; the projects now before parliament will, if sanc-
tioned, add nearly another 1,000 miles to the existing
length of our railways, and were the cost of their construc-
tion to be equal to the rate of executing the existing lines,
almost £40,000,000 sterling would be added to railway in-
vestments ; but, as the cost will not reach that rate, to
add another £30,000,000 sterling to railway stock will be
probably a more truthful calculation. Thus, in a few
years, the enormous sum of £109,000,000 of money will
have been invested by tke English capitalists in the con-
structioi of railways at home, besides a very considerable
sum which has been sent out of the country to assist in
the formation of foreign railways.
THE CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.—This bill
was brought under a committee of the House of Commons
on Monday last, Mr. Marshall in the chair. The bill was
opposed by the Bishop of Bangor, Sir Charles Smith, and
Mr. James Bateman. On Tuesday evening, Sir G. Clerk
was added to the committee, and a considerable amount
of traffic at present existing on the line was proved by se-
veral witnesses—as much as would show a clear income to
the proprietors of the line of at least six per cent. On
Thursday the committee came to the unanimous determi-
nation that the preamble of the bill was proved. Sir G.
Clerk then proposed to examine Mr. Giles, the engineer,
as to the utility of adopting his line at Chester, which
would have the effect of leaving out the city. This was
opposed by the committee generally, and it was understood
that the sanction of the government would undoubtedly
be given to the bill. The clauses were considered on Fri-
day, when at the suggestion of the government, a clause
was introduced suspending the works from the river be-
tween Ogwyn and the Menai Bridge, until next session,
when a bill will be introduced g,ving power to the com-
pany to make an iron bridge over the Menai Straits at the
Britannia Rocks, and fixing the line which the railway
shall traverse between these two points. This arrange-
ment puts an end to the opposition, and there appears to
be no doubt of the bill now passing, and Mr. Stephenson's
line being finally adopted, according to his plans.

SHREWSBURY AND GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY.—
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rumour, the proposed formation of the Trent valley line
from Stafford to Rugby, by the united influence and funds
of the three powerful companies most interested in the
project. We now have authority to state that the arrange.
ment there alluded to is decided upon, and that the Lon-
don and Birmingham, the Grand Junction, and the Man-
chester and Birmingham Companies, have agreed to unite
in going to parliament next session for this line, which, it
is understood, has also the decided sanction of govern-
ment. The carrying of the Shrewsbury line into the Trent
valley line, at its junction, at or near Stafford, will render
that the quickest and best route to London, and thus de-
prive the Wolverhampton project of the one solitary ar-
gument in its favour, namely, that it would save half-an-
hour's time in a London journey. From the union of the
London and Birmingham and Grand Junction Companies
in the formation of it, the prospect of Shrewsbury remain-
ing permanently the terminus ot the branch in this direc-
tion, has assumed a much more certain and definite as-
pect than was previously the case, notviithstandiner, the
obvious interest and declared intention of the Grand
Junction Company to make it such. The surveyors o'
ti e Grand Junction Company have been in the nrigl.bour-
lood of Shrewsbury during several days last virek, ease-
fully surveying and taking the levels of lines in every di-
rection.—Shrew aut.& journal.