The Railways and Ocean Outlets

It would almost be impossible to over-estimate the importance of adequate ocean outlets, in the way of docks and shipping facilities, to the average railway system. At Home, a very considerable percentage of the passenger and freight business handled passes through the various ports, and there is much competition for shipping business of every kind. Many of the docks around the coast of Britain are owned and operated by the railways themselves, those at Hull and Southampton being noteworthy examples (writes our London Correspondent).

The Port of London Authority is a most “go-ahead” undertaking, and recently it has opened a new entrance lock and dry dock at Tilbury, while a new passenger landing stage is also being constructed nearby. The new entrance lock will accommodate the largest vessel afloat, being 1,000 feet long and 110 feet wide. It is by vessels engaged in trade between Britain and New Zealand, Australia, and India, that Tilbury Docks are principally used. Tilbury Docks handle 150,000 outward passengers and 60,000 inward passengers annually.

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