ELECTRIC ROADS.
The use of electricity as a motive power in Chile, is in its incipiency. Electric car systems now in operation are, the street railways in Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion and Talca, and their respective suburbs, a few lines in mountainous districts, used for carrying ores from the mines to the reducing stations, an interurban line connecting Concepcion with the ports of Talcahuano and Coronel, and one extending from Valparaiso to Viña del Mar. A government concession has been granted for the building of an electric railway from Santiago to Valparaiso, and plans are being made for the electrification of some of the government roads.
Connecting with the railways of the country are cart roads, the best of which may be classed as bad, and the branches connecting with the principal highways are nothing more than trails over a rough mountainous country. Few new roads are being built, and little attention is given to the improvement or maintenance of those already constructed.