Success of Electrification.

Electrification would give the railways not only a more frequent, but a quicker service than could be given by bus transport.

I should like here to quote from a speech made by General Baring at a recent meeting of the Southern Railway Company, in regard to the success of electrification. He says: “The number of passengers carried in the electrified areas was still going ahead by leaps and bounds, and, notwithstanding the opening of the City and South London Tube to Morden (which deprived us of about 4,000,000 passengers during the year) there was still an increase of 7,250,000 passengers carried in the electrified area as compared with 1925. By the electrification of the system, and by the large extension of cheap fares, the company can, in our view, not only meet motor competition, but also take advantage of it.

“The more frequent service which electrification permits enables the company to offer a service comparable in facility with that of the motor omnibus, and by cheap booking it can take advantage of the universal travelling habit which the motor has created. It is important to bear in mind that the motor conveyance is not merely a competitor of the railway, but is also an ally, inasmuch as it has popularised travel.

“In the present year capital expenditure will again be considerable, namely, about £2,750,-000, of which about £750,000 is required for Southampton dock extensions and considerably more than £1,000,000 for electrification work. The stockholders have every reason to welcome this type of expenditure, since the money spent on electrification has already returned a hansome profit.”