The future of main-line electrification on British railways

Extensive main-line electrification has hitherto been considered to be a rather remote possibility in Great Britain, it being supposed that the capital expenditure involved and the price of current would be prohibitive. The great superiority and simplicity of the electric as compared with the steam locomotive as a machine has not been realized. The author shows that the probable density of traffic in ton-miles on the main railway arteries is so great that the cost of energy, including all capital charges, will not be prohibitive, also that the cost of the electric locomotives will not be a capital charge, and, further, that when the reductions in the cost of locomotive operation and maintenance (due to the simple construction of the electric locomotive) are taken into account, the total cost of locomotive operation is substantially less for electricity than for steam. The conclusion is. that though it has only been possible to base the argument on general statistics, the problem merits closer and more immediate investigation than has hitherto been accorded to it.