PROJECTED DIRECT RAILWAY BETWEEN PORTSMOUTH AND LONDON.—A preliminary meeting was held at the Portland Hotel, Southsea, on Wednesday morning, for the purpose of initiating measures for the establishment of a more direct means of railway communication between Portsmouth and the Metropolis. The following important features are proposed to be effected by the establishment of this line :—It will take its point of departure from the existing lines of Havant, something to the west of that town; thence it will proceed direct to Petersfield, in the route proposed last year for the line that was then set on foot; but instead of going on to Alton, it is now intended to go on to Godalming, there running into the South Western Railway, after passing through or near Liss, Liphook, and Haslemere. Thus, as near as possible, it will follow the old coach road, which is the only direct and natural route between Portsmouth and London. 'The new line will be 31¼ miles in length, and the construction of the whole extent has been contracted for by one of the most eminent contractors, for 350,000l., including the purchase of the land. The line of the original Direct Portsnmouth Railway comprised four tunnels; three of these have been dispensed with, the only tunnel on the present line being through Butser Hill, which will be about a quarter of a mile in length. The principal owners of land on the proposed line, including Sir W. Jolliffe, Mr. J. B. Carter, M.P., and others, have agreed to part with the requisite land at its fair agricultural value, and will take out that value in shares in the Company, many of them also subscribing In addition. The title of the Company is ‟The Portsmouth and Godalming Railway Company.” By the carrying out of this scheme the distance between Portsmouth and London will be reduced to 72 miles to Waterloo Bridge, and by a junction now in progress a communication will be secured with London Bridge, at a distance of 81 miles; the existing Railways being, to London Bridge 95 miles, and Waterloo Bridge 94. It is needless to enter into any comparison between the features of this projected line of rail and that we noticed last week, on the authority of a railway journal, and which was to run into the South Western Railway at Fareham. This latter would reduce the distance between Portsmouth and London to but a trifling extent, and would in point of fact be almost a parallel line to the present South Western Railway. But the line to Havant would pass through the very centre of the district now unprovided for by railway accommodation, would provide it for the towns of Petersfield, Midhurst, and Haslemere, and a large number of villages, besides effecting a reduction in the distance between Portsmouth and the Metropolis of 23 or 24 miles, just one fourth.