Our
needs

Aiming at reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the European railway system, the European Union is fostering energy efficiency in the overall railway and subway systems.

Our
objectives

To develop the metrological framework and measurement infrastructure that underpin the adoption of energy efficient technologies in European railway systems.

Expected
results

We have a comprehensive list of expected results. To learn more, please click the button below.

Our
needs

  • Aiming at reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the rail transport, the European Union is fostering energy efficiency in the overall railway and subway system.

 

  • Since energy billings computed on the actual consumed energy will be required by 2019, it is necessary to guarantee reliable energy measurement and billing at European level.

 

  • The efficient use of the railway infrastructure, encouraged by the European Union, demands new constraints for energy supply systems. In this scenario, accurate knowledge of the real-time power quality (PQ) is a valuable tool.

 

  • Reversible Substations (RSSs) in DC railway systems, able to transfer the excess energy produced during braking to the upstream AC network, can improve energy saving. The high cost of the initial investment necessitates an evaluation to foresee the advantages and the effects of installation of new RSSs.

 

  • Eco‑driving (driving a train as efficiently as possible by maintaining a speed profile designed to reduce economic and environmental costs) is a further energy saving technique. It needs accurate on‑board energy measurements in order to widely apply optimized eco-driving strategies in both railway and subway systems.

Overall and specific
objectives

OVERALL OBJECTIVE

Our overall objective is to develop a metrological framework and a measurement infrastructure to underpin the adoption of energy efficient technologies in the European railway and subway system.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

  1. To provide a metrological framework to Improve energy and power quality measurements.
  2. To develop reliable tools for continuous monitoring of power quality in supply systems.
  3. To set up combined measurement-simulation tools to quantify the impact of the installation of new reversible substations (RSSs) in terms of energy saving and power quality.
  4. To develop measurement systems and procedures for evaluating energy saving provided by eco-driving strategies.
  5. To facilitate the take up of the technology and infrastructure developed in the project.

Expected Results

DESCRIPTION
GOALS
Phantom distorted power generator
Realization of new generation systems for AC (25 kV 50 Hz, 15 kV 16.7 Hz ) and 600 V - 3 kV DC systems
AC: 6 MW, 5 kHz
DC: 4 MW, 2 kHz
Calibration of Energy Measurement Function (EMF) and Power Quality (PQ) meters
Realization of new laboratory calibrators and procedures for calibration under real harsh electrical conditions
Accuracy:
DC: 0.1 %
AC: 0.5 %
On-board EMF calibration/re-verification
Design, application and uncertainty budget estimation
Accuracy:
DC: 0.4 %
Algorithm for pantograph contact quality estimation
Development, characterization, application
On-site application
PQ monitoring architecture
Design, test and implementation in a test case
On-site application
RSSs energy saving
Design, test and implementation of setups and models for energy saving estimation/prediction
Accuracy on potential energy saved: 1 %
Eco-driving energy saving
Design, test and implementation of reliable procedure for energy saving estimation in different scenarios
On-site accuracy of energy saved estimation: 1 %