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132-470: An electric vehicle ( EV ) is a vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs include road and rail vehicles , electric boats and underwater vessels , electric aircraft and electric spacecraft . Early electric vehicles first came into existence in the late 19th century, when the Second Industrial Revolution brought forth electrification . Using electricity

264-519: A power transmission system . Electric locomotives benefit from the high efficiency of electric motors, often above 90% (not including the inefficiency of generating the electricity). Additional efficiency can be gained from regenerative braking , which allows kinetic energy to be recovered during braking to put power back on the line. Newer electric locomotives use AC motor-inverter drive systems that provide for regenerative braking. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to diesel locomotives since there

396-611: A steam turbine , which drives a generator, which is then fed to the propulsion. See Nuclear marine propulsion . A few experimental vehicles, such as some cars and a handful of aircraft use solar panels for electricity. These systems are powered from an external generator plant (nearly always when stationary), and then disconnected before motion occurs, and the electricity is stored in the vehicle until needed. Batteries, electric double-layer capacitors and flywheel energy storage are forms of rechargeable on-board electricity storage systems. By avoiding an intermediate mechanical step,

528-460: A 100 kW internal combustion engine, which can only deliver its maximum torque within a limited range of engine speed. Efficiency of charging varies considerably depending on the type of charger, and energy is lost during the process of converting the electrical energy to mechanical energy. Usually, direct current (DC) electricity is fed into a DC/AC inverter where it is converted to alternating current (AC) electricity and this AC electricity

660-452: A combustion-powered locomotive (i.e., steam- or diesel-powered ) could cause a safety issue due to the risks of fire, explosion or fumes in a confined space. Battery locomotives are preferred for mine railways where gas could be ignited by trolley-powered units arcing at the collection shoes, or where electrical resistance could develop in the supply or return circuits, especially at rail joints, and allow dangerous current leakage into

792-507: A fleet of 1.1 million natural gas vehicles as of December 2011 . As of January 2011, the Australian motor vehicle fleet had 16.4 million registered vehicles, with an ownership rate of 730 motor vehicles per 1000 people, up from 696 vehicles per 1000 residents in 2006. The motor vehicle fleet grew 14.5% since 2006, for an annual rate of 2.7% during this five-year period. The following table compares vehicle ownership rates by region with

924-570: A fleet of 779,090 natural gas vehicles as of June 2012 , the largest NGV fleet in Europe. Sweden, with 225,000 flexible-fuel vehicles, has the largest flexifuel fleet in Europe by mid-2011. More than one million plug-in electric passenger cars and vans have been registered in Europe by June 2018, the world's second largest regional plug-in stock after China. Norway is the leading plug-in market in Europe with almost 500,000 units registered as of December 2020 . In October 2018, Norway became

1056-456: A fleet of over 256 million in 2008, and passenger cars accounted for 87% of the union's fleet. The five largest markets, Germany (17.7%), Italy (15.4%), France (13.3%), the UK (12.5%), and Spain (9.5%), accounted for 68% of the region's total registered fleet in 2008. The EU-27 member countries had in 2009 an estimated ownership rate of 473 passenger cars per 1000 people. According to Ward's, Italy had

1188-429: A ground and polished journal that is integral to the axle. The other side of the housing has a tongue-shaped protuberance that engages a matching slot in the truck (bogie) bolster, its purpose being to act as a torque reaction device, as well as support. Power transfer from the motor to the axle is effected by spur gearing , in which a pinion on the motor shaft engages a bull gear on the axle. Both gears are enclosed in

1320-467: A heavy internal combustion engine or large batteries, they can have very good power-to-weight ratios . This allows high speed trains such as France's double-deck TGVs to operate at speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph) or higher, and electric locomotives to have a much higher power output than diesel locomotives . In addition, they have higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration, and using regenerative brakes can put braking power back into

1452-554: A hybrid electric vehicle can combine the power from an electric motor and the internal combustion engine. The most common type is a parallel hybrid that connects the engine and the electric motor to the wheels through mechanical coupling. In this scenario, the electric motor and the engine can drive the wheels directly. Series hybrids only use the electric motor to drive the wheels and can often be referred to as extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) or range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs). There are also series-parallel hybrids where

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1584-415: A liquid-tight housing containing lubricating oil. The type of service in which the locomotive is used dictates the gear ratio employed. Numerically high ratios are commonly found on freight units, whereas numerically low ratios are typical of passenger engines. The Whyte notation system for classifying steam locomotives is not adequate for describing the variety of electric locomotive arrangements, though

1716-409: A modern locomotive can be up to 50% of the cost of the vehicle. Electric traction allows the use of regenerative braking, in which the motors are used as brakes and become generators that transform the motion of the train into electrical power that is then fed back into the lines. This system is particularly advantageous in mountainous operations, as descending locomotives can produce a large portion of

1848-490: A new type 3-phase asynchronous electric drive motors and generators for electric locomotives at the Fives-Lille Company. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway in Évian-les-Bains (France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898. In 1918, Kandó invented and developed the rotary phase converter , enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via

1980-595: A number of Mini EVs when their Canadian testing ended. The production of the Citroën Berlingo Electrique stopped in September 2005. Zenn started production in 2006 but ended by 2009. During the late 20th and early 21st century, the environmental impact of the petroleum-based transportation infrastructure, along with the fear of peak oil , led to renewed interest in electric transportation infrastructure. EVs differ from fossil fuel -powered vehicles in that

2112-603: A number of vehicle classes including cars , buses , motorcycles , off-road vehicles , light trucks and regular trucks . These classifications vary according to the legal codes of each country. ISO 3833:1977 is the standard for road vehicle types, terms and definitions. Generally, to avoid requiring people with disabilities from having to possess an operator's license to use one, or requiring tags and insurance, powered wheelchairs will be specifically excluded by law from being considered motor vehicles. As of 2011 , there were more than one billion motor vehicles in use in

2244-400: A patent for this type of battery was held by Chevron, which created a problem for their widespread development. These factors, coupled with their high cost, has led to lithium-ion batteries leading as the predominant battery for EVs. The prices of lithium-ion batteries have declined dramatically over the past decade, contributing to a reduction in price for electric vehicles, but an increase in

2376-433: A rail line makes it relatively easy to power EVs through permanent overhead lines or electrified third rails , eliminating the need for heavy onboard batteries. Electric locomotives , electric multiple units , electric trams (also called streetcars or trolleys), electric light rail systems , and electric rapid transit are all in common use today, especially in Europe and Asia. Since electric trains do not need to carry

2508-424: A rate of 1:6.63 vehicles to people. The global rate of motorization increased in 2013 to 174 vehicles per 1000 people. In developing countries vehicle ownership rates rarely exceed 200 cars per 1,000 population. The following table summarizes the evolution of motor vehicle registrations in the world from 1960 to 2019: Since the early 2000s, the number of alternative fuel vehicles has been increasing driven by

2640-473: A single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high voltage national networks. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a mainline rather than just a short stretch. The 106 km Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz Works . The electrical system

2772-410: A smaller rail parallel to the main track, above ground level. There are multiple pickups on both sides of the locomotive in order to accommodate the breaks in the third rail required by trackwork. This system is preferred in subways because of the close clearances it affords. During the initial development of railroad electrical propulsion, a number of drive systems were devised to couple the output of

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2904-819: A speed of 13 km/h. During four months, the train carried 90,000 passengers on a 300-meter-long (984 feet) circular track. The electricity (150 V DC) was supplied through a third insulated rail between the tracks. A contact roller was used to collect the electricity. The world's first electric tram line opened in Lichterfelde near Berlin, Germany, in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens (see Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway and Berlin Straßenbahn ). Volk's Electric Railway opened in 1883 in Brighton. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram opened near Vienna in Austria. It

3036-542: A speed of four miles per hour (6 km/h). In England, a patent was granted in 1840 for the use of rails as conductors of electric current, and similar American patents were issued to Lilley and Colten in 1847. The first mass-produced electric vehicles appeared in America in the early 1900s. In 1902, the Studebaker Automobile Company entered the automotive business with electric vehicles, though it also entered

3168-502: A supplementary propulsion to internal combustion engines, became more widespread in the late 1990s. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles , where electric motors can be used as the predominant propulsion rather than a supplement, did not see any mass production until the late 2000s, and battery electric cars did not become practical options for the consumer market until the 2010s. Progress in batteries , electric motors and power electronics have made electric cars more feasible than during

3300-632: A total of 1.69 million natural gas vehicles. In addition, all the Brazilian gasoline-powered fleet is designed to operate with high ethanol blends, up to 25% ethanol fuel ( E25 ). The market share of flex fuel vehicles reached 88.6% of all light-duty vehicles registered in 2017. India's vehicle fleet had the second-largest growth rate after China in 2010, with 8.9%. The fleet went from 19.1 million in 2009 to 20.8 million units in 2010. India's vehicle fleet has increased to 210 million in March 2015. India has

3432-526: A women's luxury car, which may have been a stigma among male consumers. Also, internal combustion powered cars became ever-easier to operate thanks to the invention of the electric starter by Charles Kettering in 1912, which eliminated the need of a hand crank for starting a gasoline engine, and the noise emitted by ICE cars became more bearable thanks to the use of the muffler , which Hiram Percy Maxim had invented in 1897. As roads were improved outside urban areas, electric vehicle range could not compete with

3564-402: Is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines , a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor . Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers , such as diesel engines or gas turbines , are classed as diesel–electric or gas turbine–electric and not as electric locomotives, because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as

3696-650: Is common in Canada and the U.S.) but not for passenger or mixed passenger/freight traffic like on many European railway lines, especially where heavy freight trains must be run at comparatively high speeds (80 km/h or more). These factors led to high degrees of electrification in most European countries. In some countries, like Switzerland, even electric shunters are common and many private sidings are served by electric locomotives. During World War II , when materials to build new electric locomotives were not available, Swiss Federal Railways installed electric heating elements in

3828-642: Is connected to a 3-phase AC motor. For electric trains, forklift trucks , and some electric cars, DC motors are often used. In some cases, universal motors are used, and then AC or DC may be employed. In recent production vehicles, various motor types have been implemented; for instance, induction motors within Tesla Motor vehicles and permanent magnet machines in the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt . Most large electric transport systems are powered by stationary sources of electricity that are directly connected to

3960-418: Is no easy way to do the voltage/current transformation for DC so efficiently as achieved by AC transformers. AC traction still occasionally uses dual overhead wires instead of single-phase lines. The resulting three-phase current drives induction motors , which do not have sensitive commutators and permit easy realisation of a regenerative brake . Speed is controlled by changing the number of pole pairs in

4092-1091: Is no engine and exhaust noise and less mechanical noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means electric locomotives are easier on the track, reducing track maintenance. Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration. Electric locomotives are ideal for commuter rail service with frequent stops. Electric locomotives are used on freight routes with consistently high traffic volumes, or in areas with advanced rail networks. Power plants, even if they burn fossil fuels , are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines. The power can also come from low-carbon or renewable sources , including geothermal power , hydroelectric power , biomass , solar power , nuclear power and wind turbines . Electric locomotives usually cost 20% less than diesel locomotives, their maintenance costs are 25–35% lower, and cost up to 50% less to run. The chief disadvantage of electrification

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4224-463: Is now employed largely unmodified by ÖBB to haul their Railjet which is however limited to a top speed of 230 km/h due to economic and infrastructure concerns. An electric locomotive can be supplied with power from The distinguishing design features of electric locomotives are: The most fundamental difference lies in the choice of AC or DC. The earliest systems used DC, as AC was not well understood and insulation material for high voltage lines

4356-427: Is only viable if the system is large enough to use the power generated by descending vehicles. In the systems above, motion is provided by a rotary electric motor. However, it is possible to "unroll" the motor to drive directly against a special matched track. These linear motors are used in maglev trains which float above the rails supported by magnetic levitation . This allows for almost no rolling resistance of

4488-414: Is powered by onboard batteries; a kind of battery electric vehicle . Such locomotives are used where a diesel or conventional electric locomotive would be unsuitable. An example is maintenance trains on electrified lines when the electricity supply is turned off. Another use for battery locomotives is in industrial facilities (e.g. explosives factories, oil, and gas refineries or chemical factories) where

4620-404: Is powered exclusively through electric motors. The electricity may come from a battery ( battery electric vehicle ), solar panel ( solar vehicle ) or fuel cell ( fuel cell vehicle ). A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system ( hybrid vehicle drivetrain ). The presence of

4752-483: Is the high cost for infrastructure: overhead lines or third rail, substations, and control systems. The impact of this varies depending on local laws and regulations. For example, public policy in the U.S. interferes with electrification: higher property taxes are imposed on privately owned rail facilities if they are electrified. The EPA regulates exhaust emissions on locomotive and marine engines, similar to regulations on car & freight truck emissions, in order to limit

4884-430: Is the second largest after China (2.21 million by September 2018). As of 2017 , the country's fleet also includes more than 160,000 natural gas vehicles , mainly transit buses and delivery fleets. Despite its relative small size, natural gas use accounted for about 52% of all alternative fuels consumed by alternative transportation fuel vehicles in the U.S. in 2009. The 27 European Union (EU-27) member countries had

5016-403: Is widespread in Europe, with electric multiple units commonly used for passenger trains. Due to higher density schedules, operating costs are more dominant with respect to the infrastructure costs than in the U.S. and electric locomotives have much lower operating costs than diesel. In addition, governments were motivated to electrify their railway networks due to coal shortages experienced during

5148-505: The Ganz works and Societa Italiana Westinghouse , was an electro-mechanical converter , allowing the use of three-phase motors from single-phase AC, eliminating the need for two overhead wires. In 1923, the first phase-converter locomotive in Hungary was constructed on the basis of Kandó's designs and serial production began soon after. The first installation, at 16 kV 50 Hz, was in 1932 on

5280-603: The Pennsylvania Railroad applied classes to its electric locomotives as if they were steam. For example, the PRR GG1 class indicates that it is arranged like two 4-6-0 class G locomotives coupled back-to-back. UIC classification system was typically used for electric locomotives, as it could handle the complex arrangements of powered and unpowered axles and could distinguish between coupled and uncoupled drive systems. A battery–electric locomotive (or battery locomotive)

5412-635: The Pennsylvania Railroad , which had introduced electric locomotives because of the NYC regulation, electrified its entire territory east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania . The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad (the Milwaukee Road ), the last transcontinental line to be built, electrified its lines across the Rocky Mountains and to the Pacific Ocean starting in 1915. A few East Coastlines, notably

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5544-560: The Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive reluctance motors , with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a wooden cylinder on each axle, and simple commutators . It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour (6 kilometers per hour) for a distance of one and a half miles (2.4 kilometres). It was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of

5676-522: The SJ Class Dm 3 locomotives on Swedish Railways produced a record 7,200 kW. Locomotives capable of commercial passenger service at 200 km/h appeared in Germany and France in the same period. Further improvements resulted from the introduction of electronic control systems, which permitted the use of increasingly lighter and more powerful motors that could be fitted inside the bogies (standardizing from

5808-472: The United Kingdom (750 V and 1,500 V); Netherlands , Japan , Ireland (1,500 V); Slovenia , Belgium , Italy , Poland , Russia , Spain (3,000 V) and Washington, D.C. (750 V). Electrical circuits require two connections (or for three phase AC , three connections). From the beginning, the track was used for one side of the circuit. Unlike model railroads the track normally supplies only one side,

5940-664: The United States , the country with one of the highest motorization rates in the world, and how it has evolved from 1999 to 2016. In 2017, a total of 97.3 million cars and commercial vehicles were built worldwide, led by China, with about 29 million motor vehicles manufactured, followed by the United States with 11.2 million, and Japan with 9.7 million. The following table shows the top 15 manufacturing countries for 2017 and their corresponding annual production between 2004 and 2017. Electric locomotives An electric locomotive

6072-568: The University of Groningen , in the Netherlands , built a small-scale electric car, and sometime between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first crude electric carriage, powered by non-rechargeable primary cells . American blacksmith and inventor Thomas Davenport built a toy electric locomotive, powered by a primitive electric motor, in 1835. In 1838, a Scotsman named Robert Davidson built an electric locomotive that attained

6204-518: The Virginian Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway , electrified short sections of their mountain crossings. However, by this point electrification in the United States was more associated with dense urban traffic and the use of electric locomotives declined in the face of dieselization. Diesel shared some of the electric locomotive's advantages over steam and the cost of building and maintaining

6336-480: The arcjet rocket , the electrostatic ion thruster , the Hall-effect thruster , and Field Emission Electric Propulsion . Road vehicle The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually an internal combustion engine or an electric motor , or some combination of the two, such as hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids . For legal purpose, motor vehicles are often identified within

6468-412: The electrical grid rather than wasting it. Maglev trains are also nearly always EVs. There are also battery electric passenger trains operating on non-electrified rail lines. Electric boats were popular around the turn of the 20th century. Interest in quiet and potentially renewable marine transportation has steadily increased since the late 20th century, as solar cells have given motorboats

6600-487: The electrified segment , the fleet of hybrid electric vehicles in the United States is the second largest in the world after Japan, with more than four million units sold through April 2016. Since the introduction of the Tesla Roadster electric car in 2008, cumulative sales of highway legal plug-in electric vehicles in the United States passed one million units in September 2018. The U.S. stock of plug-in vehicles

6732-678: The energy conversion efficiency can be improved compared to hybrids by avoiding unnecessary energy conversions. Furthermore, electro-chemical batteries conversions are reversible, allowing electrical energy to be stored in chemical form. Most electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries (Li-Ions or LIBs). Lithium-ion batteries have a higher energy density , longer life span , and higher power density than most other practical batteries. Complicating factors include safety, durability, thermal breakdown, environmental impact , and cost . Li-ion batteries should be used within safe temperature and voltage ranges to operate safely and efficiently. Increasing

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6864-404: The traction motors to the wheels. Early locomotives often used jackshaft drives. In this arrangement, the traction motor is mounted within the body of the locomotive and drives the jackshaft through a set of gears. This system was employed because the first traction motors were too large and heavy to mount directly on the axles. Due to the number of mechanical parts involved, frequent maintenance

6996-522: The 1990s onwards on asynchronous three-phase motors, fed through GTO-inverters). In the 1980s, the development of very high-speed service brought further electrification. The Japanese Shinkansen and the French TGV were the first systems for which devoted high-speed lines were built from scratch. Similar programs were undertaken in Italy , Germany and Spain ; in the United States the only new mainline service

7128-481: The 20th century, electric rail transport became commonplace due to advances in the development of electric locomotives . Over time their general-purpose commercial use reduced to specialist roles as platform trucks , forklift trucks , ambulances, tow tractors, and urban delivery vehicles, such as the iconic British milk float . For most of the 20th century, the UK was the world's largest user of electric road vehicles. Electrified trains were used for coal transport, as

7260-458: The 20th century. As a means of reducing tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, and to reduce use of fossil fuels, government incentives are available in many areas to promote the adoption of electric cars and trucks. Electric motive power started in 1827 when Hungarian priest Ányos Jedlik built the first crude but viable electric motor; the next year he used it to power a small model car. In 1835, Professor Sibrandus Stratingh of

7392-460: The 500 million-unit mark in 1986, from 250 million motor vehicles in 1970. Between 1950 and 1970, the vehicle population doubled roughly every 10 years. Navigant Consulting forecasts that the global stock of light-duty motor vehicles will reach 2 billion units in 2035. Global vehicle ownership in 2010 was 148 vehicles in operation per 1,000 people, a ratio of 1:6.75 vehicles to people, slightly down from 150 vehicles per 1,000 people in 2009,

7524-482: The 56 km section of the Hungarian State Railways between Budapest and Komárom . This proved successful and the electrification was extended to Hegyeshalom in 1934. In Europe, electrification projects initially focused on mountainous regions for several reasons: coal supplies were difficult, hydroelectric power was readily available, and electric locomotives gave more traction on steeper lines. This

7656-531: The B&;O to the new line to New York through a series of tunnels around the edges of Baltimore's downtown. Parallel tracks on the Pennsylvania Railroad had shown that coal smoke from steam locomotives would be a major operating issue and a public nuisance. Three Bo+Bo units were initially used, the EL-1 Model. At the south end of the electrified section; they coupled onto the locomotive and train and pulled it through

7788-681: The Buchli drive was mainly used by the French SNCF and Swiss Federal Railways . The quill drive was also developed about this time and mounted the traction motor above or to the side of the axle and coupled to the axle through a reduction gear and a hollow shaft – the quill – flexibly connected to the driving axle. The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 locomotive used a quill drive. Again, as traction motors continued to shrink in size and weight, quill drives gradually fell out of favor in low-speed freight locomotives. In high-speed passenger locomotives used in Europe,

7920-505: The First and Second World Wars. Diesel locomotives have less power compared to electric locomotives for the same weight and dimensions. For instance, the 2,200 kW of a modern British Rail Class 66 diesel locomotive was matched in 1927 by the electric SBB-CFF-FFS Ae 4/7 (2,300 kW), which is lighter. However, for low speeds, the tractive effort is more important than power. Diesel engines can be competitive for slow freight traffic (as it

8052-483: The ICE. Finally, the initiation of mass production of gasoline-powered vehicles by Henry Ford in 1913 reduced significantly the cost of gasoline cars as compared to electric cars. In the 1930s, National City Lines , which was a partnership of General Motors , Firestone , and Standard Oil of California purchased many electric tram networks across the country to dismantle them and replace them with GM buses. The partnership

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8184-473: The London Underground. One setback for third rail systems is that level crossings become more complex, usually requiring a gap section. The original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad electrification used a sliding pickup (a contact shoe or simply the "shoe") in an overhead channel, a system quickly found to be unsatisfactory. It was replaced by a third rail , in which a pickup rides underneath or on top of

8316-405: The United States declined -11.5% in 2017 and -12.8% in 2018. As of 2016 , the stock of alternative fuel vehicles in the United States included over 20 million flex-fuel cars and light trucks , the world's second-largest flexible-fuel fleet in the world after Brazil . However, actual use of ethanol fuel is significantly limited due to the lack of E85 refueling infrastructure. Regarding

8448-427: The adoption of plug-in electric vehicle . As of 2020 , the stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles in use totaled over 10 million units. As of 2019 , in addition, the medium and heavy commercial segments add another 700,000 units to the global stock of plug-in electric vehicles. In 2020 the global market share of plug-in passenger car sales was 4.2%, up from 2.5% in 2019. Nevertheless, despite government support and

8580-430: The amount of carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons, nitric oxides, and soot output from these mobile power sources. Because railroad infrastructure is privately owned in the U.S., railroads are unwilling to make the necessary investments for electrification. In Europe and elsewhere, railway networks are considered part of the national transport infrastructure, just like roads, highways and waterways, so are often financed by

8712-402: The battery's lifespan decreases effective costs and environmental impact. One technique is to operate a subset of the battery cells at a time and switching these subsets. In the past, nickel–metal hydride batteries were used in some electric cars, such as those made by General Motors. These battery types are considered outdated due to their tendencies to self-discharge in the heat. Furthermore,

8844-399: The beginnings of aviation, electric power for aircraft has received a great deal of experimentation. Currently, flying electric aircraft include piloted and unpiloted aerial vehicles. Electric power has a long history of use in spacecraft . The power sources used for spacecraft are batteries, solar panels and nuclear power. Current methods of propelling a spacecraft with electricity include

8976-457: The boilers of some steam shunters , fed from the overhead supply, to deal with the shortage of imported coal. Recent political developments in many European countries to enhance public transit have led to another boost for electric traction. In addition, gaps in the unelectrified track are closed to avoid replacing electric locomotives by diesel for these sections. The necessary modernization and electrification of these lines are possible, due to

9108-480: The deployment and adoption of this technology. Ford released a number of their Ford Ecostar delivery vans into the market. Honda, Nissan and Toyota also repossessed and crushed most of their EVs, which, like the GM EV1s, had been available only by closed-end lease. After public protests, Toyota sold 200 of its RAV4 EVs ; they later sold at over their original forty-thousand-dollar price. Later, BMW of Canada sold off

9240-457: The dominant propulsion mechanisms for cars and trucks for about 100 years, but electricity-powered locomotion remained commonplace in other vehicle types, such as overhead line -powered mass transit vehicles like electric trains , trams , monorails and trolley buses , as well as various small, low-speed, short-range battery-powered personal vehicles such as mobility scooters . Hybrid electric vehicles , where electric motors are used as

9372-546: The early 1900s. They were produced by Baker Electric , Columbia Electric , Detroit Electric , and others, and at one point in history outsold gasoline-powered vehicles. In 1900, 28 percent of the cars on the road in the US were electric. EVs were so popular that even President Woodrow Wilson and his secret service agents toured Washington, D.C., in their Milburn Electrics, which covered 60–70 miles (100–110 km) per charge. Most producers of passenger cars opted for gasoline cars in

9504-564: The early development of electric locomotion was driven by the increasing use of tunnels, particularly in urban areas. Smoke from steam locomotives was noxious and municipalities were increasingly inclined to prohibit their use within their limits. The first electrically worked underground line was the City and South London Railway , prompted by a clause in its enabling act prohibiting the use of steam power. It opened in 1890, using electric locomotives built by Mather and Platt . Electricity quickly became

9636-435: The electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each functions as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks (pickups and tractors), buses, boats, tow trucks, and aircraft also exist. There are different ways that

9768-494: The electricity they consume can be generated from a wide range of sources, including fossil fuels , nuclear power , and renewables such as solar power and wind power , or any combination of those. Recent advancements in battery technology and charging infrastructure have addressed many of the earlier barriers to EV adoption, making electric vehicles a more viable option for a wider range of consumers. The carbon footprint and other emissions of electric vehicles vary depending on

9900-474: The electrification of many European main lines. European electric locomotive technology had improved steadily from the 1920s onwards. By comparison, the Milwaukee Road class EP-2 (1918) weighed 240 t, with a power of 3,330 kW and a maximum speed of 112 km/h; in 1935, German E 18 had a power of 2,800 kW, but weighed only 108 tons and had a maximum speed of 150 km/h. On 29 March 1955, French locomotive CC 7107 reached 331 km/h. In 1960

10032-518: The end 2016 Vehicle ownership per capita in the U.S. is also the highest in the world, the U.S. Department of Energy (USDoE) reports a motorization rate of 831.9 vehicles in operation per 1000 people in 2016, or a ratio of 1:1.2 vehicles to people. According to USDoE, the rate of motorization peaked in 2007 at 844.5 vehicles per 1,000 people. In terms of licensed drivers , as of 2009 the country had 1.0 vehicle for every licensed driver, and 1.87 vehicles per household. Passenger car registrations in

10164-486: The end of September 2018. The United States has the highest vehicle ownership per capita in the world, with 832 vehicles in operation per 1000 people in 2016. Also, China became the world's largest new car market in 2009. In 2022, a total of 85 million cars and commercial vehicles were built, led by China which built a total of 27 million motor vehicles. In 1968 the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic gave one of

10296-453: The engine of a motor vehicle, the most popular options promoted by different governments are: natural gas vehicles , LPG powered vehicles , flex-fuel vehicles , use of biofuels , hybrid electric vehicles , plug-in hybrids , electric cars , and hydrogen fuel cell cars . Since the late 2000s, China, European countries, the United States, Canada, Japan and other developed countries have been providing strong financial incentives to promote

10428-507: The expiration of GM's EV1 leases, GM discontinued them. The discontinuation has variously been attributed to: A movie made on the subject in 2005–2006 was titled Who Killed the Electric Car? and released theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics in 2006. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers , oil industry , the U.S. government , batteries , hydrogen vehicles , and the general public, and each of their roles in limiting

10560-501: The expo site at Frankfurt am Main West, a distance of 280 km. Using experience he had gained while working for Jean Heilmann on steam–electric locomotive designs, Brown observed that three-phase motors had a higher power-to-weight ratio than DC motors and, because of the absence of a commutator , were simpler to manufacture and maintain. However, they were much larger than the DC motors of

10692-597: The first decade of the 20th century, but electric trucks were an established niche well into the 1920s. A number of developments contributed to a decline in the popularity of electric cars. Improved road infrastructure required a greater range than that offered by electric cars, and the discovery of large reserves of petroleum in Texas, Oklahoma, and California led to the wide availability of affordable gasoline/petrol, making internal combustion powered cars cheaper to operate over long distances. Electric vehicles were seldom marketed as

10824-499: The first international definitions of a motor vehicle: Other sources might provide other definitions, for instance in the year 1977, ISO 3833:1977 provide other definitions. The U.S. publisher Ward's estimates that as of 2010, there were 1.015 billion motor vehicles in use in the world. This figure represents the number of cars, trucks (light, medium and heavy duty), and buses, but does not include off-road vehicles or heavy construction equipment . The world vehicle population passed

10956-738: The first main-line three-phase locomotives to the 40 km Burgdorf–Thun railway (highest point 770 metres), Switzerland. The first implementation of industrial frequency single-phase AC supply for locomotives came from Oerlikon in 1901, using the designs of Hans Behn-Eschenburg and Emil Huber-Stockar ; installation on the Seebach-Wettingen line of the Swiss Federal Railways was completed in 1904. The 15 kV, 50 Hz 345 kW (460 hp), 48 tonne locomotives used transformers and rotary converters to power DC traction motors. In 1894, Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó developed

11088-399: The following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use. It was destroyed by railway workers, who saw it as a threat to their job security. The first electric passenger train was presented by Werner von Siemens at Berlin in 1879. The locomotive was driven by a 2.2 kW, series-wound motor, and the train, consisting of the locomotive and three cars, reached

11220-472: The fuel and technology used for electricity generation . The electricity may be stored in the vehicle using a battery, flywheel, or supercapacitors . Vehicles using internal combustion engines usually only derive their energy from a single or a few sources, usually non-renewable fossil fuels. A key advantage of electric vehicles is regenerative braking , which recovers kinetic energy , typically lost during friction braking as heat, as electricity restored to

11352-407: The gasoline vehicles market in 1904. However, with the advent of cheap assembly line cars by Ford Motor Company , the popularity of electric cars declined significantly. Due to lack of electricity grids and the limitations of storage batteries at that time, electric cars did not gain much popularity; however, electric trains gained immense popularity due to their economies and achievable speeds. By

11484-999: The ground. The first electric locomotive built in 1837 was a battery locomotive. It was built by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen in Scotland , and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Another early example was at the Kennecott Copper Mine , McCarthy, Alaska , wherein 1917 the underground haulage ways were widened to enable working by two battery locomotives of 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 short tons (4.0 long tons; 4.1 t). In 1928, Kennecott Copper ordered four 700-series electric locomotives with onboard batteries. These locomotives weighed 85 short tons (76 long tons; 77 t) and operated on 750 volts overhead trolley wire with considerable further range whilst running on batteries. The locomotives provided several decades of service using nickel–iron battery (Edison) technology. The batteries were replaced with lead-acid batteries , and

11616-551: The infinite range of sailboats . Electric motors can and have also been used in sailboats instead of traditional diesel engines. Electric ferries operate routinely. Submarines use batteries (charged by diesel or gasoline engines at the surface), nuclear power, fuel cells or Stirling engines to run electric motor-driven propellers. Fully electric tugboats are being used in Auckland, New Zealand (June 2022), Vancouver, British Columbia (October 2023), and San Diego, California. Since

11748-431: The interest of several governments to promote their widespread adoption through public subsidies and other non-financial incentives. Governments have adopted these policies due to a combination of factors, such as environmental concerns , high oil prices, and less dependence on imported oil . Among the fuels other than traditional petroleum fuels ( gasoline or diesel fuel ), and alternative technologies for powering

11880-462: The largest hybrid electric vehicle fleet in the world. As of March 2018 , there were 7.51 million hybrids registered in the country, excluding kei cars , and representing 19.0% of all passenger cars on the road. The Brazilian vehicle fleet reached 64.8 million vehicles in 2010, up from 29.5 million units in 2000, representing a 119% growth in ten years, and reaching a motorization rate of 340 vehicles per 1000 people. In 2010 Brazil experienced

12012-1120: The locomotives were retired shortly afterward. All four locomotives were donated to museums, but one was scrapped. The others can be seen at the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad , Iowa, and at the Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista, California. The Toronto Transit Commission previously operated on the Toronto subway a battery electric locomotive built by Nippon Sharyo in 1968 and retired in 2009. London Underground regularly operates battery–electric locomotives for general maintenance work. As of 2022 , battery locomotives with 7 and 14 MWh energy capacity have been ordered by rail lines and are under development. In 2020, Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company , manufacturers of stored electrical power systems using supercapacitors initially developed for use in trams , announced that they were extending their product line to include locomotives. Electrification

12144-519: The motors did not use the valuable oxygen in the mines. Switzerland's lack of natural fossil resources forced the rapid electrification of their rail network . One of the earliest rechargeable batteries  – the nickel-iron battery  – was favored by Edison for use in electric cars. EVs were among the earliest automobiles, and before the preeminence of light, powerful internal combustion engines (ICEs), electric automobiles held many vehicle land speed and distance records in

12276-412: The on-board battery. There are many ways to generate electricity, of varying costs, efficiency and ecological desirability. It is also possible to have hybrid EVs that derive electricity from multiple sources, such as: For especially large EVs, such as submarines , the chemical energy of the diesel–electric can be replaced by a nuclear reactor . The nuclear reactor usually provides heat, which drives

12408-434: The other side(s) of the circuit being provided separately. Railways generally tend to prefer overhead lines , often called " catenaries " after the support system used to hold the wire parallel to the ground. Three collection methods are possible: Of the three, the pantograph method is best suited for high-speed operation. Some locomotives use both overhead and third rail collection (e.g. British Rail Class 92 ). In Europe,

12540-424: The performance of AC locomotives was sufficiently developed to allow all its future installations, regardless of terrain, to be of this standard, with its associated cheaper and more efficient infrastructure. The SNCF decision, ignoring as it did the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of high-voltage DC already installed on French routes, was influential in the standard selected for other countries in Europe. The 1960s saw

12672-490: The period of electrification of the Italian railways, tests were made as to which type of power to use: in some sections there was a 3,600 V 16 + 2 ⁄ 3  Hz three-phase power supply, in others there was 1,500 V DC, 3 kV DC and 10 kV AC 45 Hz supply. After WW2, 3 kV DC power was chosen for the entire Italian railway system. A later development of Kandó, working with both

12804-567: The power required for ascending trains. Most systems have a characteristic voltage and, in the case of AC power, a system frequency. Many locomotives have been equipped to handle multiple voltages and frequencies as systems came to overlap or were upgraded. American FL9 locomotives were equipped to handle power from two different electrical systems and could also operate as diesel–electrics. While today's systems predominantly operate on AC, many DC systems are still in use – e.g., in South Africa and

12936-597: The power supply infrastructure, which discouraged new installations, brought on the elimination of most main-line electrification outside the Northeast. Except for a few captive systems (e.g. the Deseret Power Railroad ), by 2000 electrification was confined to the Northeast Corridor and some commuter service; even there, freight service was handled by diesel. Development continued in Europe, where electrification

13068-530: The power supply of choice for subways, abetted by Sprague's invention of multiple-unit train control in 1897. Surface and elevated rapid transit systems generally used steam until forced to convert by ordinance. The first use of electrification on an American main line was on a four-mile stretch of the Baltimore Belt Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1895 connecting the main portion of

13200-411: The price of critical minerals such as lithium from 2021 to the end of 2022 has put pressure on historical battery price decreases. The power of a vehicle's electric motor , as in other machines, is measured in kilowatts (kW). Electric motors can deliver their maximum torque over a wide RPM range. This means that the performance of a vehicle with a 100 kW electric motor exceeds that of a vehicle with

13332-438: The primary source of power. On-road electric vehicles include electric cars, electric trolleybuses, electric buses , battery electric buses , electric trucks , electric bicycles , electric motorcycles and scooters , personal transporters , neighborhood electric vehicles , golf carts , milk floats , and forklifts . Off-road vehicles include electrified all-terrain vehicles and electric tractors . The fixed nature of

13464-400: The quill drive is still predominant. Another drive was the " bi-polar " system, in which the motor armature was the axle itself, the frame and field assembly of the motor being attached to the truck (bogie) in a fixed position. The motor had two field poles, which allowed a limited amount of vertical movement of the armature. This system was of limited value since the power output of each motor

13596-654: The rapid growth experienced, the plug-in electric car segment represented just about 1 out of every 250 vehicles (0.4%) on the world's roads by the end of 2018. The People's Republic of China had 322 million motor vehicles in use at the end of September 2018, of which, 235 million were passenger cars in 2018, making China the country with largest motor vehicle fleet in the world. In 2016, the motor vehicle fleet consisted of 165.6 million cars and 28.4 million trucks and buses. About 13.6 million vehicles were sold in 2009, and motor vehicle registrations in 2010 increased to more than 16.8 million units, representing nearly half

13728-399: The rate of motorization of developed countries . The United States has the second-largest fleet of motor vehicles in the world after China. As of 2016 , had a motor vehicles stock of 259.14 million, of which, 246 million were light duty vehicles, consisting of 112.96 million passenger cars and 133 million light trucks (includes SUVs ). A total of 11.5 million heavy trucks were registered at

13860-420: The recommended geometry and shape of pantographs are defined by standard EN 50367/IEC 60486 Mass transit systems and suburban lines often use a third rail instead of overhead wire. It allows for smaller tunnels and lower clearance under bridges, and has advantages for intensive traffic that it is a very sturdy system, not sensitive to snapping overhead wires. Some systems use four rails, especially some lines in

13992-507: The second highest (after the U.S.) vehicle ownership per capita in 2010, with 690 vehicles per 1000 people. Germany had a rate of motorization of 534 vehicles per 1000 people and the UK of 525 vehicles per 1000 people, both in 2008. France had a rate of 575 vehicles per 1000 people and Spain 608 vehicles per 1000 people in 2007. Portugal, between 1991 and 2002 grew up 220% on its motorization rate, having had in 2002, 560 cars per 1000 people. Italy also leads in alternative fuel vehicles , with

14124-571: The second largest fleet increase in the world after China, with 2.5 million vehicle registrations. As of 2018 , Brazil has the largest alternative fuel vehicle fleet in the world with about 40 million alternative fuel motor vehicles in the road. The clean vehicle stock includes 30.5 million flexible-fuel cars and light utility vehicles and over 6 million flex-fuel motorcycles by March 2018; between 2.4 and 3.0 million neat ethanol vehicles still in use, out of 5.7 million ethanol only light-vehicles produced since 1979; and, as of December 2012 ,

14256-439: The state. Operators of the rolling stock pay fees according to rail use. This makes possible the large investments required for the technically and, in the long-term, also economically advantageous electrification. The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen , and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Davidson later built a larger locomotive named Galvani , exhibited at

14388-399: The stator circuit, with acceleration controlled by switching additional resistors in, or out, of the rotor circuit. The two-phase lines are heavy and complicated near switches, where the phases have to cross each other. The system was widely used in northern Italy until 1976 and is still in use on some Swiss rack railways . The simple feasibility of a fail-safe electric brake is an advantage of

14520-442: The system, while speed control and the two-phase lines are problematic. Rectifier locomotives, which used AC power transmission and DC motors, were common, though DC commutators had problems both in starting and at low velocities. Today's advanced electric locomotives use brushless three-phase AC induction motors . These polyphase machines are powered from GTO -, IGCT - or IGBT -based inverters. The cost of electronic devices in

14652-600: The time and could not be mounted in underfloor bogies : they could only be carried within locomotive bodies. In 1896, Oerlikon installed the first commercial example of the system on the Lugano Tramway . Each 30-tonne locomotive had two 110 kW (150 hp) motors run by three-phase 750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at a constant speed and provide regenerative braking and are thus well suited to steeply graded routes; in 1899 Brown (by then in partnership with Walter Boveri ) supplied

14784-500: The total stock. China is also the world's largest electric bus market, reaching about 385,000 units by the end of 2017. The number of cars and motorcycles in China increased 20 times between 2000 and 2010. This explosive growth has allowed China to become the world's largest new car market, overtaking the US in 2009. Nevertheless, ownership per capita is 58 vehicles per 1000 people, or a ratio of 1:17.2 vehicles to people, still well below

14916-640: The tunnels. Railroad entrances to New York City required similar tunnels and the smoke problems were more acute there. A collision in the Park Avenue tunnel in 1902 led the New York State legislature to outlaw the use of smoke-generating locomotives south of the Harlem River after 1 July 1908. In response, electric locomotives began operation in 1904 on the New York Central Railroad . In the 1930s,

15048-652: The use of gasoline. In January 1990, General Motors President introduced its EV concept two-seater, the "Impact", at the Los Angeles Auto Show. That September, the California Air Resources Board mandated major-automaker sales of EVs, in phases starting in 1998. From 1996 to 1998 GM produced 1117 EV1s , 800 of which were made available through three-year leases. Chrysler , Ford, GM, Honda , and Toyota also produced limited numbers of EVs for California drivers during this time period. In 2003, upon

15180-443: The use of low currents; transmission losses are proportional to the square of the current (e.g. twice the current means four times the loss). Thus, high power can be conducted over long distances on lighter and cheaper wires. Transformers in the locomotives transform this power to a low voltage and high current for the motors. A similar high voltage, low current system could not be employed with direct current locomotives because there

15312-423: The vehicle and no mechanical wear and tear of the train or track. In addition to the high-performance control systems needed, switching and curving of the tracks becomes difficult with linear motors, which to date has restricted their operations to high-speed point to point services. It is generally possible to equip any kind of vehicle with an electric power-train. A pure-electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle

15444-495: The vehicle can be powered by the engine working alone, the electric motor on its own, or by both working together; this is designed so that the engine can run at its optimum range as often as possible. A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any motor vehicle that can be recharged from any external source of electricity, such as wall sockets , and the electricity stored in the Rechargeable battery packs drives or contributes to drive

15576-442: The vehicles through wires. Electric traction allows the use of regenerative braking , in which the motors are used as brakes and become generators that transform the motion of, usually, a train into electrical power that is then fed back into the lines. This system is particularly advantageous in mountainous operations, as descending vehicles can produce a large portion of the power required for those ascending. This regenerative system

15708-452: The wheels. PEV is a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles, (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. A range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) is a vehicle powered by an electric motor and a plug-in battery. An auxiliary combustion engine is used only to supplement battery charging and not as

15840-586: The world's first country where 10% of all passenger cars on the road are plug-in electrics. Also, the Norwegian plug-in car segment market share has been the highest in the world for several years, achieving 39.2% in 2017, 49.1% in 2018, and 74.7% in 2020. Japan had 73.9 million vehicles by 2010, and had the world's second largest motor vehicle fleet until 2009. As of 2016 , the registered motor vehicle fleet totaled 75.81 million vehicles consisting of 61,40 million cars and 14,41 million trucks and buses. Japan has

15972-421: The world's fleet increase in 2010. Ownership per capita rose from 26.6 vehicles per 1000 people in 2006 to 141.2 in 2016. The stock of highway-legal plug-in electric or new energy vehicles in China totaled 2.21 million units by the end of September 2018, of which, 81% are all-electric vehicles . These figures include heavy-duty commercial vehicles such buses and sanitation trucks, which represent about 11% of

16104-404: The world, excluding off-road vehicles and heavy construction equipment . The US publisher Ward's estimates that as of 2019, there were 1.4 billion motor vehicles in use in the world. Global vehicle ownership per capita in 2010 was 148 vehicles in operation (VIO) per 1000 people. China has the largest motor vehicle fleet in the world, with 322 million motor vehicles registered at

16236-459: Was among the preferred methods for motor vehicle propulsion as it provides a level of quietness, comfort and ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline engine cars of the time, but range anxiety due to the limited energy storage offered by contemporary battery technologies hindered any mass adoption of private electric vehicles throughout the 20th century. Internal combustion engines (both gasoline and diesel engines ) were

16368-576: Was an extension of electrification over the Northeast Corridor from New Haven, Connecticut , to Boston, Massachusetts , though new electric light rail systems continued to be built. On 2 September 2006, a standard production Siemens electric locomotive of the Eurosprinter type ES64-U4 ( ÖBB Class 1216) achieved 357 km/h (222 mph), the record for a locomotive-hauled train, on the new line between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg. This locomotive

16500-507: Was convicted of conspiring to monopolize the sale of equipment and supplies to their subsidiary companies, but was acquitted of conspiring to monopolize the provision of transportation services. The Copenhagen Summit , which was conducted in the midst of a severe observable climate change brought on by human-made greenhouse gas emissions, was held in 2009. During the summit, more than 70 countries developed plans to eventually reach net zero. For many countries, adopting more EVs will help reduce

16632-404: Was limited. The EP-2 bi-polar electrics used by the Milwaukee Road compensated for this problem by using a large number of powered axles. Modern freight electric locomotives, like their Diesel–electric counterparts, almost universally use axle-hung traction motors, with one motor for each powered axle. In this arrangement, one side of the motor housing is supported by plain bearings riding on

16764-399: Was necessary. The jackshaft drive was abandoned for all but the smallest units when smaller and lighter motors were developed, Several other systems were devised as the electric locomotive matured. The Buchli drive was a fully spring-loaded system, in which the weight of the driving motors was completely disconnected from the driving wheels. First used in electric locomotives from the 1920s,

16896-498: Was not available. DC locomotives typically run at relatively low voltage (600 to 3,000 volts); the equipment is therefore relatively massive because the currents involved are large in order to transmit sufficient power. Power must be supplied at frequent intervals as the high currents result in large transmission system losses. As AC motors were developed, they became the predominant type, particularly on longer routes. High voltages (tens of thousands of volts) are used because this allows

17028-457: Was particularly applicable in Switzerland, where almost all lines are electrified. An important contribution to the wider adoption of AC traction came from SNCF of France after World War II . The company had assessed the industrial-frequency AC line routed through the steep Höllental Valley , Germany, which was under French administration following the war. After trials, the company decided that

17160-513: Was the first in the world in regular service powered from an overhead line. Five years later, in the U.S. electric trolleys were pioneered in 1888 on the Richmond Union Passenger Railway , using equipment designed by Frank J. Sprague . The first electrified Hungarian railway lines were opened in 1887. Budapest (See: BHÉV ): Ráckeve line (1887), Szentendre line (1888), Gödöllő line (1888), Csepel line (1912). Much of

17292-506: Was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. The voltage was significantly higher than used earlier and it required new designs for electric motors and switching devices. The three-phase two-wire system was used on several railways in Northern Italy and became known as "the Italian system". Kandó was invited in 1905 to undertake the management of Società Italiana Westinghouse and led the development of several Italian electric locomotives. During

17424-530: Was widespread. 1,500 V DC is still used on some lines near France and 25 kV 50 Hz is used by high-speed trains. The first practical AC electric locomotive was designed by Charles Brown , then working for Oerlikon , Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission for the International Electrotechnical Exhibition , using three-phase AC , between a hydro–electric plant at Lauffen am Neckar and

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