By Ivan Krastev, Pietro Tricoli, Stuart Hillmansen, and Minwu Chen Future of Electric Railways AILWAYS ARE A VITAL PART OF THE WORLD ECONOMY, transporting both goods and passengers. Freight trains transport large quantities of goods, whereas high-speed trains are the fastest land passenger systems. At present, the majority of rail networks across the world are nonelectrified. They run diesel-powered trains that require refueling stations and produce high noise levels and pollutant emissions. On the other hand, electrified railways have a R Advanced electrification systems with static converters for ac railways. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2016.2584998 Date of publication: 2 September 2016 6 I E E E E l e c t r i f i cati o n M agaz ine / SEPTEMBER 2016 2325-5987/16©2016IEEE