Abstract
THE Engineer of July 17, 24 and 31 contains three short articles on main-line electrification abroad, which are devoted to a statistical survey of the financial aspect of electrification. That electric traction has great advantages for suburban traffic and where water-power is plentiful and coal dear is generally admitted, but the fact that only 1\ per cent of the total railway mileage in the world is electrified will, perhaps, come as a surprise to those who advocate the adoption of electrification on a wide scale in Great Britain. Of all European countries, in only one, Switzerland, does electrified mileage predominate, and in only six out of twenty does it exceed trifling proportions. Commenting on this, the Engineer says: βIt is impossible to believe that this neglect of electrification is due to the supineness and conservatism of so many nations. When it is observed that the German national railway system is only electrified to less than 4 per cent, those who are firmjy convinced that there is no more technically progressive nation in the universe will have to admit that the arguments against electrical operation must have been overpowering.β Electric traction is undoubtedly an extremely efficient means of transport, but against this has to be put the very high capital costs involved. The arguments against electrification have also been strengthened by the great improvements recently made in steam locomotives and the introduction of Diesel-electric units.
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The Economics of Railway Electrification. Nature 138, 280 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138280c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138280c0