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ELECTRIFICATION SCHEMES.
The fresh borrowing for electrification of the London Suburban systems of the railways, ' a work which is to extend over the next five years, must, of course, ulti- mately ' involve an indirect increase in fixed charges. During the period of construction, however, interest can be paid out of capital and the real test will come at the end of the period when it remains to be seen how far increased capital charges will be offset by increased revenues and, perhaps, some decrease in actual working expenses. During the construction period, however, there must inevitably be some interruption of services which may not be conducive to increased receipts on the systems affected. Nevertheless, it is generally recognized that this work of electrification is long overdue and there is no reason to suppose that the ultimate results may not be beneficial both to the travelling public and even to the railways themselves. • A. W. K.
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