We welcome the promotion of a system of underground goods
railways for London. The convenience of the existing passenger railways is enormous and the benefit they confer on the streets by keeping at any moment some thousands of travellers out of the congestion above is immense. And yet there has always been some absurdity in packing human beings for transit underground while goods enjoyed the fresh air. There will be saving of time, labour, breakages and congestion of the streets and bridges if trucks arriving, say, at a North London goods station can be lowered directly on to rails of the same gauge and conveyed to Nine Elms or Bricklayers' Arms, and there raised to the level of the Southern lines. Even greater advantages may be gained by connecting the docks with the railway stations. The Post Office will have access to the system and presumably parcels and mail-bags will be carried by contract. We are thankful that private enterprise steps in before the State took our money for this purpose, though we must admit that the Post Office has shown some enterprise, probably unprofitable, in constructing its parcels tubes.
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