One Railway System ?
Though no official announcement has yet been made, there ppears to be substance in the report that the whole of the railway systems of this -country are about to be brought under single management and worked as one unit. Such a develop- ment would be both natural and wise. In the last war the eduction from a multiplicity of railway companies to four was hieved. In thii war the concentration of industry is being complished, and to add the concentration of transport would only logical. It would not, as in the case of factories, involve e Closing of redundant lines, or not to any large extent, but would make possible a co-ordination which would promote th efficiency and economy, as for example the reservation of main stretches of line, where there is a satisfactory alternative oute, for goods traffic only. Whether a unification effected now ill remain permanent, as the reduction to four companies in e last war did, is a question that meets no immediate answer. ut unification, whether temporary or permanent, can hardly top at the railways. The transport-system of the country, luding roads and canals, must be dealt with as a whole. The ssibilities of the canals, for example, for the carriage of heavy d non-perishable goods, notably coal,-should be explored to e utmost. Col. Moore-Brabazon, if current rumours are con- flied, has put his hand to a vast undertaking. But it is a ecessary undertaking, and should be carried resolutely through.
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