ASPECTS OF RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION FOR THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

The successful development of electric traction for precisely 100 years has plenty of permanent but also highly topical causes. Electric traction enables a maximum transport performance of the railway. It is non-polluting, it saves energy and is not dependent on any specific source of primary energy. The electrification of a railway line, which was formerly only decided on the basis of the traffic volume, is nowadays also influenced by aspects related to power supply, energy budget and environmental protection. In addition to the operational analysis, the competition between the transport operators for higher shares in the total national transport volume is being characterised by an ever-increasing national economic component. Moreover, railway electrification has always been accompanied by a considerable political effect on the employment situation. At all times, railway electrification projects have had great effects on the creation and preservation of qualified jobs. Embracing many technologies, traction engineering normally has a multiplier effect on other branches of mechanical engineering, civil engineering and on electrical engineering in the power and communications fields. Finally, mention must be made of the positive effect of the development of modern electric railway installations and vehicles on the export volume of the respective industry.