§ 66. Mr. NORTHasked the Secretary for Mines whether he can give any estimate of the reduction in the quantity of coal required annually by the railway companies of this country if they were to electrify their main lines?
§ Mr. E. BROWNThe Committee on Main Line Electrification which reported in 1931 estimated that in the event of the electrification of the railways, the amount of coal required for the production of the necessary electricity would be about 3,650,000 tons. On the basis of present coal consumption by railway locomotives, this would represent a net reduction in coal consumption of rather more than 8 million tons.