Ernst said, "By 1900, Europe's total railway mileage had already approached 300,000 kilometers, only slightly behind the United States. During our First Five-Year Plan, railway construction across European countries also developed at breakneck speed. Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and a host of smaller European nations were all further advancing railway transportation construction."
"So even after the Second Five-Year Plan is completed, our railways will still lag significantly behind those of Europe and America. However, with the rise of road transport and the rapid development of the automobile industry, it is plain for all to see that transportation within certain regions no longer requires separate railway lines."
Before the First Five-Year Plan, Ernst's words might not have carried much conviction. But after the East African automobile industry began exerting its strength and production reached the staggering million-unit level, the East African government now had a clearer understanding of the impact that roads and other forms of transportation had on railways.
"Of course, just as Andre said earlier, our conditions for inland water transport are far inferior to those of Europe, the United States, and even the Far East Empire. Therefore, railways' important position in our transportation system cannot be replaced by other forms of transport."
"Thus, during the Second Five-Year Plan, and even the future Third and Fourth Five-Year Plans, railway construction will remain an important task in our industrial development. Even when East African railways reach saturation in the future, railway technology will continue to advance, so maintaining railway operations will be a long-term task."
"Take railway electrification, for example. It can already be determined as an important direction for future railway development. During the Second Five-Year Plan, our country will promote the construction of two experimental electrified railways."
As a relatively young form of transportation, railways possessed extraordinarily