COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF THEIR RAILROADS
BEING ELECTRIFIED
Most European countries have a substantial number of their railroads
electrified--meaning that trains can get their power directly from
overhead wires. In contrast, the railways of the United States are
woefully unelectrified as Amtrak has less than 5 percent of its
lines being electrified with freight routes being almost completely
run by diesel trains. Light rail, usually powered by electricity,
is growing in some metropolitan areas, however.
All of the nations on this list are European except for two, Japan
(with its extensive high-speed passenger railroad system) and
North Korea (with its rail infrastructure having been built by the
Soviets).
COUNTRY
1. Georgia
1. Switzerland
3. Luxembourg
4. Belgium
5. Sweden
6. Bosnia & Herzegovina
7. Netherlands
8. Japan
9. Montenegro
10. North Korea
PERCENTAGE OF
RAILWAY MILEAGE
WHICH IS ELECTRIFIED
100%
100%
96%
83%
82%
74%
73%
70%
68%
67%
Source of Data: CIA World Factbook, mostly 2005 data.
