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Railway electrification in Great Britain began during the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails; the two most common systems are 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the 750 V DC third rail system in southeast England and on Merseyrail. In 2006, 40%— of the British rail network was electrified, and 60% of all rail journeys were by electric traction (both by locomotives and multiple units).〔Network Rail, 2003 Technical Plan, Chapter 11 "Network Capability", page 7 "Electrification". "Approximately 40% of the rail network is currently equipped with electrification. From page 1, total network is 30,764 km, 7,587 km of 25 kV AC, 4,285 km of 650/750 V DC and 28 km of 1500 V DV. Excludes CTRL, LUL, Old Danby test track, bulk of Tyne and Wear Metro, etc. NB it does not state what method of counting length of network is used - i.e. sidings, loops, double track etc. produce different numbers. The UIC statistics that are used in the chart showing electrification in Europe is based solely on line length. Thus, on this count, 11,900 km (38.7%) is electrified. Of the electrified network, 63.8% is 25 kV AC, 36.0% is 650/750 V DC and 0.2% is 1,500 V DC.〕 According to Network Rail, 64% of the electrified network uses the 25 kV AC overhead system, and 36% uses the 660/750 V DC third-rail system.〔 The electrified network is set to expand over coming years, as 25 kV electrification is extended to currently unelectrified lines, such as the Great Western Main Line, the Midland Main Line and lines in the North of England as part of the Northern Hub. ==History== The first electric railway in Great Britain was Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton which opened in 1883, and still functions to this day. The London Underground began operating electric services using a fourth rail system in 1890 on the City and South London Railway, now part of the Northern line. Main line electrification of some suburban lines began in the early years of the 20th Century, using a variety of different systems. In 1921 a government committee chose 1,500 V DC overhead to be the national standard,〔 〕 but little implementation followed and many different systems co-existed. During the interwar period, the Southern Railway adopted the 660 V DC third rail system as its standard and greatly expanded this system across its network of lines south of London. After World War II and the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, British Railways expanded electrification at both 1,500 V DC overhead and 660/750 V third rail. In 1956, British Railways adopted 25 kV AC overhead as standard for all projects outside logical extensions of third-rail systems. The 25 kV AC network has continued to expand slowly, and large areas of the country outside London are not electrified. In 2007, the government's preferred option was to use diesel trains running on biodiesel, its White Paper ''Delivering a Sustainable Railway'',〔(Delivering a Sustainable Railway - White Paper CM 7176 )〕 ruling out large-scale railway electrification for the following five years. In May 2009, Network Rail launched a consultation on large-scale electrification, potentially to include the Great Western Main Line and Midland Main Line and smaller "in-fill" schemes. Key benefits cited were that electric trains are faster, more reliable and cause less track wear than diesel trains.〔Rail Magazine June 3-June 16, 2009 "Network Rail's strategy to extend electrification by 3,000 miles" page 6〕 Since then, electrification of the Great Western Main Line has been approved; electric trains are planned to run to Bristol from 2016 and Cardiff from 2017. Electrification of the Midland Main Line, several Trans-Pennine routes and the Welsh Valleys has also been approved. In Scotland, where transport is devolved to the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland is extending electrification, for example, on the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link. This is part of a larger plan that sees many major routes in central Scotland electrified, including the main – route. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Railway electrification in Great Britain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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