Proposed Channel Tunnel.

Apropos of fast running to and from the Continent, it is interesting to note that, despite the opposition which has always existed to the construction of a channel tunnel, proposals are now on foot for the construction of a high-speed, broad-gauge railway, linking London with Paris, and including in its make-up a two-track tunnel beneath the Channel. The railway would be 7ft. gauge throughout, and this would involve the building of entirely new tracks on both sides of the water, these tracks presumably taking the place of the existing rail routes between London and the English southern coast, and Paris and the northern seabord of France. In all, the railway would be some 253 miles in length, and the method of haulage would be by means of electric motors having a gyroscopic action. The total cost of the proposed railway is said to be in the neighbourhood of £189,000,000, and this fact alone would seem to condemn the scheme at the outset. Admirable facilities for movement between London and Paris are already provided by the Southern Railway of England and the French Northern system, and, although the author of the scheme states that the Northern Railway would actually benefit by the project, it is difficult to follow his line of reasoning; and the Southern Railway of England may certainly be expected vigorously to oppose any plan such as this.