Metrology for smart energy management in electric railway systems

Short Name: MyRailS, Project Number: 16ENG04
Image showing a modern train pulling into a station at sunrise
Railway station with beautiful modern red commuter train at sunrise

Improved energy and power quality measurements will enable smart, energy efficient management of railway networks


The European railway system consumes about 36.5 terawatt-hours of energy each year. To meet the ambitious EU target of reducing CO2 emissions from rail transport by 50 % by 2030, efficient use of energy across Europe's railway system is mandatory. This requires accurate and reliable knowledge of the energy exchanged between the train and the railway grid, and real-time power quality.

 

This project has developed the infrastructure needed for accurate measurement of energy exchange and power quality, under the highly dynamic conditions experienced in transit. The project also focussed on the characterisation of the railway subsystem as a producer-consumer, able to transfer excess energy, with a view to its integration in a wider smart grid. The results will underpin the energy efficient management of Europe's railway networks, and allow upcoming EU legislation concerning railway energy management to be met.

 

EMPIR project 20NRM03 DC grids builds on this work.

Project website
Publications
Reference Energy Measuring System for On-Board Calibration of EMS Installed in Locomotives
2021

International Conference on Sensors Engineering and Electronics Instrumentation Advances

How Pantograph Electric Arcs affect Energy Efficiency in DC Railway Vehicles
2021

2020 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference

Filter Transients onboard DC Rolling Stock and Exploitation for the Estimate of the Line Impedance
2020

2020 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC)

Calibrating Sensors to Measure Braking Chopper Currents in DC Traction Units
2020

2020 Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM)

Measuring the Voltage Dependence of Current Transformers
2020

2020 Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM)

Power Flow Simulation of DC Railway Power Supply Systems with Regenerative Braking
2020

2020 IEEE 20th Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference ( MELECON)

Power Quality Assessment in Railway Traction Supply Systems
2020

IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement

Accurate Measurement of Energy Dissipated in Braking Rheostats in DC Railway Systems
2020

2020 Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM)

Monitoring a DC Train Supplied by a Reversible Substation
2020

2020 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC)

Fictive power source for calibrations in railway systems
2019

19th International Congress of Metrology (CIM2019)

Power Quality Event Analysis in 25 kV 50 Hz AC Railway System Networks
2019

2019 IEEE 10th International Workshop on Applied Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS)

Monitoring Energy and Power Quality On Board Train
2019

2019 IEEE 10th International Workshop on Applied Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS)

Characterization of DC current sensors under distorted conditions for railway applications
2019

2018 IEEE International Conference on Electrical Systems for Aircraft, Railway, Ship Propulsion and Road Vehicles & International Transportation Electrification Conference (ESARS-ITEC)

Discussion on DC and AC Power Quality Assessment in Railway Traction Supply Systems
2019

2019 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC)

Calibration of Voltage and Current Transducers for DC Railway Systems
2019

IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement

Characterization of DC Current Sensors With AC Distortion for Railway Applications
2019

IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement

Behaviour of Spectral Active Power Terms for the Swiss 15 kV 16.7 Hz Railway System
2019

2019 IEEE 10th International Workshop on Applied Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS)

Characterization of Active Power Flow at Harmonics for AC and DC Railway Vehicles
2019

2019 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference (VPPC)

Phantom Power Generator for DC Railway Metrology
2019

2019 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC)

Synchronized Measurement System for Railway Application
2018

Journal of Physics: Conference Series

A Testbed for Static and Dynamic Characterization of DC Voltage and Current Transducers
2018

2018 IEEE 9th International Workshop on Applied Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS)

Pantograph-to-OHL Arc: Conducted Effects in DC Railway Supply System
2018

IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement

Other Participants
ASTM, Analysis, Simulation, Test and Measurement SAGL (Switzerland)
Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A (Italy)
Metro de Madrid, S.A. (Spain)
Railenium (France)
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Italy)
Trenitalia S.p.A (Italy)
Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Spain)
Università degli studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli (Italy)
University of Strathclyde (United Kingdom)