ELECTRIFICATION.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 February 1922, Page 3

ELECTRIFICATION.

j LIMITATIONS WTTH RAILWAYS

’ [m T TELEGRAPH— - ZH fiIESS ASSOCIATION]

I WELLINGTON, Feb, 21. ! “Electrification is l no universal pa ini' eea for railway iSls,” was the dictum of Mr G. W. M’Lean, Chief Engineer.’ of ! New (Zealand Railways given a.t the J conference of Civil Engineers. He re- ' marked tha,t there was a, very prevalent , idea that electrification of our railways ■ was all that was required to make them | a success. Electric traction on railways was of comparatively recent date, but developments of this method of working had been rapid, and at the prescr' timo there! were thousands of miles of railways operated electrically. “It imust lie, recognised, however,” said Air M’Lean “that electrification is no unusual ipa.nacea for railway ills. In suitable circumstances it is capable < _ yielding excellent results, but every case must he carefully examined on its merits from both financial and technical points of view. Under normal conditions the steam locomotive is acknowledged, even by enthusiastic advocates of electric traction, to be the most economical means of haulage, and in practically every case where electric haulage has been adopted there have been some special reasons. A typical example of this is the case' of the Otira Tunnel, where it has been decided to adopt electric traction, principally on account of the difficulty of using steam locomotives in the tunnel.

COST OF NEW ZEALAND ELECTRIFICATION.

“Let us consider the financial aspect of elecriliration of New Zealand railways. The total route mileage r the railways is at the ipresent time somewhat over 3000 miles, and track mileage nearly 4000 miles. The latter inileajge must he adopted in considering the cost, of electrification. It was estimated some years ago by a well-known electrical engineer that the cost ol electrification of our railways would he about £SOOO per mile, excluding the cost of power, stations, that is, the cost of generating tile supply of electric current and of the necessary engines and rolling stock. This estimate

probably low, but it will lie sufficient for the present purpose to adopt the sum stated. The cost of electrification of the whole system, would, therefore, hc*. say, £20,000,000 an addition to t’ present capital cost (£37,235,251) of over 50 per cent, flic interest on which, sn,v £1,0000,000 a. year, would have to ho found. WORKING COST ANALYSED. - “This it must he remembered is the cost of the equipment necessary to use electric current in pia.ee of the fuel and water required in steam traction, and does not include either the cost of locomotives or of the electric current required. The total cost .of fuel and water may* be put at an average under reasonably normal * conditions of well under £500,090 a. year. These figures will ’.give some indication of the cost of electrification of the whole system. What is true of the v.'hool may lie taken, to apply in a general way to paHial electrification. In detailed investigation into thd cost, of electrification of. asection where circumstances seemed favourable it was estimated that the capital mst involved amounted to over £7OO per mile a.t pre-war rates, and ' that the cost of operation would he practically double that of steam locomotives. The estimate was prepared by t! b same authority whom 1 have alreadv quoted, an enthusiastic advocate ef electrification. It will thus he seen that tho question of electrification in its financial rjspect alone is not so simple as many people imagine. Electric traction has many advantages, and if what, lias been said may appear of somewhat adverse nature, it- seems necessary to give a, word of warning against hasty generalisations. Tt seems not unlikely that, notwithstanding the cost, eleerifien.tion may be found in special eases to afford th e most satisfactory solution in handling traffic and in providing for the public convenience.”