Railway electrification 1920-40

Abstract

By 1920, electric traction was well established on rapid-transit railways, tunnel lines, mountain railways and sections of main line railway in difficult terrain. These electric railways opened during the period when railway transport enjoyed a near monopoly on land for passenger traffic and long-distance goods movements, though after 1920 competition came from road transport when the state encouraged demobilised soldiers to set up motor bus and road haulage companies to create the motor-vehicle expertise which would be needed in a future war. Air transport using airships or aeroplanes was recognised as a potential threat.

Original document

The different versions of the original document can be found in:

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/pbht031e_ch12

• http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433010094435 under the license pd

• https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/books/10.1049/pbht031e_ch12,

https://academic.microsoft.com/#/detail/2283474946