# Railway electrification and wireless power: Overview

Wires for trains, and power sent with no wires at all

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/overview/

What this tile covers Overhead wires and third rails for trains, and power sent without wires. Share of use 0.2% share of world energy carried (2019)

Share of world total energy supply (592 EJ in 2024, Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025, physical energy content) carried at least once by this mode; overlaps allowed, so shares do not add to 100 (calculated) Rail uses about 2% of transport energy and about half of that is electricity (Carbon Brief, from IEA); with world transport final energy of 121 EJ in 2019 (IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2021) that is about 1.2 EJ of electricity delivered to trains, about 0.2% of 592 EJ. Rough; mixes 2019 and 2024 data. Wireless power is negligible. Overlaps the electricity network tiles. Source: [Eight charts show how 'aggressive' railway expansion could cut emissions](https://www.carbonbrief.org/?p=31046), Carbon Brief.

#### Key facts

| **Form** | Electricity |
|---|---|

#### Included from the reference tables

- Overhead catenary and third rails
- Inductive and resonant charging, electric roads
- Microwave and laser beaming (experimental)
- Batteries carried physically, battery swapping

#### Also in Electricity
[HVAC AC transmission](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hvac/)[HVDC HVDC links](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hvdc/)[Dist Distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_distribution/)[Cab Underground, submarine and superconducting cables](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_cables/)

Explore paths from here
 More on this tile in the tabs above: how it works, efficiency and losses, technology advances, value chain, geopolitics and regulation, unit economics, impact on the biosphere.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/correlation/index.md)
- [How it works](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/explain/index.md)
- [Efficiency and losses](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/efficiency/index.md)
- [Technology advances](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/advances/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/valuechain/index.md)
- [Geopolitics and regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/geopolitics/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/economics/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/links/index.md)