Measuring the impact of reversible substations on energy efficiency in rail transport

Nowadays great interest is placed on the environmental issue. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50% higher than in 1990. European energy policy has been supporting efficient energy management in order to reduce the railway transport emissions by 50% within 2030. The railway stakeholders are encouraged to adopt technological solutions to foster energy efficiency. The electrodynamic braking combined with the adoption of reversible substations is one of the most promising solutions. In order to evaluate the impact of this innovative technology, a measurement campaign has been conducted on Metro de Madrid where a reversible substation was installed. In this paper, a preliminary analysis on the data acquired is presented. Traceable and accurate on-board train measurements of the energy flows and the losses are fundamental to quantify the impact of these new technologies and to carry out a survey on the efficiencies of the different vehicle components and on the strategies to reduce the energy consumption in the various operation modes.