Electrification of the NIMT was mooted by electrical engineer Evan Parry in the first volume of the "New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology" in November 1918. In light of a national coal shortage following World War I, Parry argued that the network was under great strain due to ever-increasing volumes of freight, and the use of steam traction was partly to blame. Parry also noted that there was great potential for cheap hydro-electricity generation in the central North Island to power electrification.