Historic canal reborn as low-carbon cargo route - CNN International Edition

Posted September 17, 2011 - CNN International Edition

Liverpool, England (CNN) -- Britain's canal systems were once viewed as a throwback to a bygone age of freight transport, sidelined or abandoned in favor of faster road and rail links.
But as one major waterway undergoes a renaissance, shipping huge quantities of wine and other goods through two of the country's major trading hubs, the network could be poised to reclaim its original role and at the same time help cut pollution levels.
The Manchester Ship Canal, which opened to great fanfare in 1894, was originally built as a way for the inland northern city of Manchester to strike back against its commercial rival Liverpool, advantageously located on the coast, 35 miles to the west.
At the time it was an engineering triumph, capable of conveying the world's largest ships -- and their valuable cargo -- right into the heart of landlocked Manchester.
Following the advent of container ships the canal fell into decline as its shallow waters were unable to accommodate the leviathans of modern maritime commerce. Containers were instead diverted to other ports and dispatched across the country on trains and trucks.
"When the ship canal was built it could take the largest ships in the world," said Alan Feast, the deputy manager of Mersey Ports, part of the company that now runs both the docks in Liverpool and the Manchester canal. "Times moved on, ships got bigger, but infrastructure on the canal hasn't."

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