THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8201, 3 August 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1906.

The possibility of building a railway across Persia and through i JBaluohistan, to connect the Indian railway system with the new Gorman liue across Asia Minor, has been discussed very frequently during the last few years. Tfcfi scheme, however, attracts very little attention from practical men, and though, no doubt, a saving in time could be effected, the cost of construction and of maintenance would render suoh a lino unprofitable for many years. There is, however, another routo by which it may be possible to journey by rail from London to Calcutta. The talK of an Anglo-Russian understanding has led a Frenoh publicist to consider the advantages of uniting the Russian and Indian railway systems. He thinks thftt there

are no reasons why there should not be a great railroad line between Europe and India, since to go from London to Calcutta by rail requires now the construction of only some 435 miles of railroad, which AngloRussian rivalry has hitherto prevented. The only thing necessary he says, "is to utilise the LondonBerlin Baku line, the steamship line across the Caspian, the Trancaspian line from Krashnovod ; t to Koncbk, the terminus of the Russian lines on the Afghan frontier, and the lines in India whioh have been constructed as far north as New-Chaman. Now, from Konobk to New-Ohaman it is only 435 miles, that is, less than from Paris to Marseilles." NewOhaman is the terminus of the Quetta line, so that the construction of this line would involve the crossing of Afghanistan and the consent of the Ameer, whioh the French writer thinks would;) not be withheld if both Britain and Russia asked for it. The construction of the road preaants no particular technical difficulties; end would require very few bridges. If the Russian and Indian systems were thus linked up, the journey from London to New-Ohaman would ocoupy no more than lfts hours, or less than seven days. But the French writer does not take into consideration the strength of the British objection to the extension of a Russian railway into Afghanistan.