CHANNEL TUNNEL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1856, 16 September 1913, Page 4

CHANNEL TUNNEL.

SCHEME REVIVED,

THE MILITARY OBJECTIONS.

The question of constructing a railway tunnel under tho English Channel from Dover to Calais has agftiu come into prominence, anil much interesting matter on the subject appears in liles to .hand by late mails, i-üblic opinion in France has always been in favour of it, but it 'has been opposed by expert military opinoin in England, 011 the ground that a tunnel would expose England to tbo dangers of invasion. In iti/4 the British Jjoreign Olliee expressed approval ol the idea of a Channel tunnel, but m 1b93, when a Bill uj autlioriso tho construction of a tunnel was introduced in tiio House of Commons, it was oppofied by the Government, 011 military grounds. Tho lato field Marshal Lord W'olseley, who reported 011 tile proposal at tlie request of the Government, characterised it as "an insane project which would place our island at the mercy of tho lirst invader who cared to avail liiinsell of the submarine way of holding 011 the shores of this hitherto invulnerable Albion." From 1883 until 189-1 a Bill j lor tile construction of the tunnel mado its appearance each year in Parliament, but- it was always opposed by tho Government of the day. In 1907 the proI>osal was considered by the Imperial Defence Committee, at the request, of the Government', and tho committee reported 011 it adversely. But a now situation has arisen ' sinco tile tunnel was condemned as a menace to England's security. France, which was for many centuries the "hereditary enemy,'' has becomo a iirm friend. It is true that tho tunnel would probably last- longer than the entento cordiale, but in any case, with the rapid development of aerial craft, the sea will soon ceaso to provide England with protection from invasion. At the end of July a deputation representing nearly 100 members of Parliament and a number of business men waited on the Prime Minister and askedthat the Government veto 011 tho tunnel should bo withdrawn All that Mr. Asquith would promise, however, was to submit the proposal to tho Imperial Defence Committee, and a-sk it to reconsider it in the light of the changes that have taken place since it was rejected by them in 1907.. Would Cost £16,000,000. If the British Government sanctioned the schcnie to construct a tunnel under the English Channel, the enterprise would bo carried out without delay. Tho French Government lias expressed its approval of the proposal, and leading French and English bankers have declared that the money for tho work could easily bo found. There seems to bo 110 doiibt that it could bo made a paying speculation/ Tho cost of a double tunnel to carry two lines of railway. would bo about £16,000,000, and half tho amount would bo raised in England and tho other half in Franco. No serious engineering difficulties aro anticipated, as the Channel bed between tho two coasts is largely composed of grey chalk, which Is bard and impermeable, but can easily bo drilled. ' In order to take full advantago of this chalk formation, the tunnel would follow a sinuous coursS, and its longth would probably bo about 30 miles. It would take about seven years to complete tlio work. The developments that have taken place ill tho construction of electric railways have disposed of' tho problems of getting rid of smoke and providing ventilation, which wore a more serious aspect when tho proposal was before tho publio twenty • years ago. .

, Among the advantages of a tunnel are the increase in passenger traffic between England and the Continent, and the reeduction of the timo occupied in the journey ;from London to Paris to five hours, without the inconvcnicnco of changing from train to boat, and from boat to train. The abolition of the sea voyage would greatly innreaso the number -of passengers to and from the Continent, and would do something to break, down the insularity of _tho English people. But the commercial advantages of a tunnel would bo greater still, for it would enable goods to bo dispatched to and from England and the Continent without brcakago of bulk. About £150,000,000 worth of, merchandise crosses annually between England and the Continental ports, and it is estimated that about £60,000,000 worth of this would go via the tunnel. There would bo 60 to 70 ti'ains a day passing underneath the Channel. In time of war between England and a Continental Power other than France the tunnel would provide a means of obtaining, food supplies, as'all supplies coming throughtile Mediterranean and landed at Marseilles would reach England safely. In these days, when Great Britain depends almost entirely on imported food supplies, the tunnel would be more of an asset than several battleships to protect the trado routes. '

, Rival Schemes. Thero are two rival proposals to the scheme for connecting England and France by a tunnel under the Channel. One is to construct a railway bridgo across the Channel. This would bo a vast undertaking, and the bridge would have to provido passages for shipping, according to expert engineers the scrtiotso is not an impracticable one. But as the Nsstimated cost of a bridge is' about £22,0iXi.000, the proposal is not likely to displace the Channel tunnel sdiiemo, especially as it would, bo moro costly to maintain, and as it is open to the same military objections •as the tunnel. The other proposal is to construct a Channel furry to take trains across, and land them on the opposite shore. This would not supply all the advantages of a. tunnel, but it would provido unbroken communication by rail for passengers and goods, and would not raise military questions. A train ferry service would be much oheaper than a tunnel,, as the ferry boats and necessary landing places would not cost more than .£2.000.000. There are train ferries both in Europe and America, passing over wider areas ofiea.thau the English Channel between ''Dovei- and Calais. On Lake JJichigan, in America, there are several train ferries of 00 to 90 miles, and oil this lake severe weather is sometimes met with. The geographical conditions of Denmark have made train ferry transport a necessity for through communication in that country. There are a- number of train 'ferries in Denmark which give unbroken railway transport over water distances of two miles UT> to IS miles. The longest of these ferries which crosses the Tirdtic Sea between Wnmomunde and Gjedser, carries trains over waters where heavy seas are frequent, under conditions similar to those which would be met with in the Endish Channel. The establishment of train ferry services in Europe and America lins been followed bv considerable increase in trnflie.- and by material reduction in onerating costs, as compared with the old system of transhipment.