African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1050: Chapter 59: Electrification

Ernst: ”In 1900, the total railway mileage in Europe was already close to 300,000 kilometers, slightly less than that of the United States. During our First Five-Year Plan, railway construction in various European countries also progressed rapidly, with Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and several small European countries further advancing railway transportation construction.”

”Therefore, even when the Second Five-Year Plan is completed, our railway will still have a significant gap compared to Europe and America. However, with the rise of road transportation and the rapid development of the automobile industry, some regions can visibly see that separate railway lines are no longer needed for transportation.”

Prior to the First Five-Year Plan, Ernst’s words might not have been very convincing, but after East Africa’s automobile industry took off, reaching an astonishing production level of millions, the East African Government now has a clearer understanding of the impact of roads and other forms of transportation on railways.

”Of course, as Andre said earlier, our conditions for inland shipping are far inferior to those of Europe, America, or even the Far East Empire. Therefore, the importance of railways in our transportation system cannot be replaced by other forms of transportation.”

”Thus, during the Second Five-Year Plan, and even future plans like the Third and Fourth, railway construction will still be an important task in our industrial construction field. Even when East Africa’s railways reach saturation in the future, railway technology will continue to advance, so maintaining railway operations is a long-term task.”

”For example, railway electrification is already a crucial direction for future railway development. During the Second Five-Year Plan, we will promote the construction of two experimental electrified railway lines.”

Railways, as a relatively young form of transportation, have extremely strong vitality. In a previous era, railways would develop towards electrification, and in the 21st century, they would vigorously move towards high-speed rail development. High-speed rail is quite distant for East Africa, but railway electrification is not.”

As early as 1879, Germany’s Siemens and Halske Company built the world’s first electrified railway, so electrified railways are not a distant concept for the development of the East African railway industry.

However, East African railways are still in the stage of capacity expansion, and widespread electrification is a long road due to the current state of electricity distribution.

Although at present, it is too early to talk about East African railway electrification, East Africa is at the forefront worldwide in research and preparation in this field.

”Currently, our railways are transitioning from steam power to internal combustion engine power, with electric transmission being a major direction within internal combustion engine power. However, providing electricity still requires petroleum and other liquid fuels as energy sources, and East African petroleum resources are relatively scarce, even though the current national petroleum production barely meets domestic needs. We must plan for the future.”

From the perspective of national defense security and energy security, although East African petroleum can be self-sufficient for now, East Africa’s petroleum demand is rising swiftly, which is the main reason East Africa imports large amounts of petroleum from Tsarist Russia and other countries.

Ernst is concerned about East Africa’s petroleum resource reserves, which has led to East Africa being at the forefront globally in utilizing other energies, such as promoting natural gas and electricity, far more than other countries.

East Africa’s hydropower and nuclear power potential are vast, and with technological progress, future power generation forms will inevitably diversify. Therefore, the proactive planning of electricity’s vital role in energy security has always been something Ernst actively promotes, which requires technological breakthroughs in relevant fields to be realized.

Ernst continued: ”The railway department must bravely attempt new technologies and promote innovation, especially in the energy sector, where diversity is needed on one hand, and proactive adaptation to the electrification era on the other. In this new era, internal combustion engine technology and electricity development are characteristic of the contemporary world. Although East Africa is at the forefront, we must maintain a sense of danger, not stagnating.”

Andre: ”Your Highness, rest assured, our Ministry of Railways is currently in a stage of construction slowdown, with a substantial amount of resources being invested in the research field. From 1906 to 1907, we will be able to complete the construction of two electrified railway lines.”

The development of electrified railway technology in East Africa began in 1895, around ten years after the world’s first electrified railway, but this does not mean East Africa’s research in this field is lagging.

In fact, as time progresses, East Africa’s technical reserves in related areas have surpassed Germany, although Germany was a pioneer in electrified railways, their railway companies and government departments are not interested in promoting railway electrification.

Currently, coal remains the world’s most important foundational energy source, with the vast majority of European railways still using traditional steam locomotives. In such circumstances, countries hardly have concerns about energy security, as global coal resources are abundant and energy distribution, much unlike concentration in oil, is widespread with large outputs and low prices.

Although individual countries have already begun moving towards internal combustion locomotives, during this era, Europeans and Americans have immature understanding of petroleum resources, with most believing petroleum resources to be inexhaustible.

And indeed, even after a hundred years of development, petroleum resources will not be exhausted, but by then, the cost of extracting petroleum will not be simple.

In general, at present, there is simply no need for Germany’s government or railway companies to painstakingly promote the construction of electrified railways; coal and petroleum resources are abundant, easy to use, and traditional railways have lower construction and maintenance costs compared to electrified railways.

This causes the development of German electrified railway technology to be relatively slow, while in the electrified railway construction in East Africa, driven by Ernst, it rises later on. If during the Second Five-Year Plan, East Africa’s two electrified railways mature in operation, then many railways in East Africa will probably undergo electrification modifications in the future.

This implies that during the Second Five-Year Plan, East Africa’s railway manufacturing industry will witness a flourishing scene of simultaneous development in steam power, internal combustion engine power, and electrification.

East Africa cannot completely eliminate the former two, especially internal combustion engine locomotives, which have just begun in East Africa and only require subsequent adjustments in proportion to meet the demands of the era.

Even in the previous era of the 21st century, many operating railways had not completed electrification, both in the Far East and Europe. Therefore, the appearance of electrified railways for East Africa represents not replacement and inheritance but a diverse development and a significant supplement to the original railway system.

In fact, electrification is not only reflected in railways, but in East Africa’s national rail transportation field, electrification is an important development direction. East Africa’s automotive industry also has similar technical breakthroughs.

For example, using natural gas or other energy to replace petroleum, electricity is another important area, which involves research into motors, control systems, and electric storage areas.

In fact, the emergence of the automobile industry did not start with internal combustion engines; steam-powered automobiles from Europe and America were the source. The advent of the internal combustion engine merely realized the transition of traditional automobiles from coal to petroleum. Therefore, finding substitutes for petroleum is not a fantasy.

Railway and automotive industries in East Africa reflect an ongoing push towards electrification in East Africa’s industrial and social development.

Now, the internal combustion engine and electricity, the two hallmark products of the Second Industrial Revolution, are trending towards integration in East Africa’s industrial and social development. Just take the automotive manufacturing sector, where despite the internal combustion engine being the power source, electronic devices are continually applied to vehicles.

Ernst concluded: ”Electrification has already become one of the main forms of social development in East Africa. Promoting electrification is an essential support for East Africa’s progress towards modernization. In the future, the degree of electrification will be an important reference in determining a country’s development, much like steel production, directly reflecting a country or region’s technological and economic condition.”

”Therefore, promoting electrification throughout East Africa is an important task of our industry. This process is extremely long, and before the mid-century, our society should at the very least achieve the distribution of electricity throughout society.”