In the past, driverless trains operated on tracks equipped with detectors to determine whether a train was on top of that particular segment. The latest system that Dimetronic and other companies have developed is called communication-based train control (CBTC) and involves constant radio communication between the track and the train. With this system, the control center is aware at all times of the exact location of every train, and can communicate directly with the train in real time to avoid dangerous situations. This technology also involves energy-saving algorithms, such as one that detects a downhill gradient and instructs a train not to accelerate, since the downhill slope will accelerate the train without any increase in power. CBTC-controlled trains can increase the capacity of a given line up to about 30 percent more passengers per day.

The first line in Madrid to be controlled by CBTC technology began running in October 2010. Dimetronic is also involved in creating a new line powered by CBTC in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which is slated to open by the end of 2011; another in Caracas, Venezuela; and a totally unmanned line in Singapore.

Not long ago, Sener was asked to evaluate the problems that were plaguing an overcrowded subway line in Santiago de Chile, in Chile. The government found itself having to temporarily close down stations, because there was simply no more room for passengers. One long-term solution may be to build a parallel line, but in the short term, Sener engineers have found that more trains can be added by introducing a driverless system and automating the line. This has increased the line’s capacity without the need for expensive new construction.

Train equiped with CBTC system. Source: Dimetronic.

Powering the system

A major concern for local transportation authorities and com­panies involved in rail is how to cut down on energy use, and how to recover available energy. Ingeteam, an electrical engineer­ing company, has a division devoted to rail, from light rail and subways to high-speed trains. The company can supply a train’s entire power system, including the motor, its controls, power electronics, and onboard electrical solutions.

The company’s latest innovation offers a novel method to capture the energy expended by braking at the station. “Usually, that energy can be captured by the electrical lines and fed into another train that needs energy,” says Angel Laurrieta, CEO of Ingeteam’s traction division. “But that situation doesn’t always occur, because there isn’t always a match between a braking and accelerating train.”

So to avoid wasting braking energy—of particular interest to city-based metros and regional trains—Ingeteam engineers designed a system that directs the energy straight into the rail’s electrical system and allows it to be used by any other part of the same system. “This can supply about 10 percent of the total energy needs for the train,” says Laurrieta. The system works in parallel with any existing physical setup, extracting the energy and routing it to other uses within the network.

“This is incredibly important,” points out Laurrieta. “Rail administrations are quite conservative,” and are interested in new technologies that obviate the need to change existing hardware.

The system has thus far been in operation for a year in the metro system of Bilbao, in the north of Spain. Ingeteam has attracted interest from public transportation systems in the U.S. and in other cities in Europe and Latin America.

Spain’s rail expansion continues to attract visitors from around the world. Joaquín Jiménez, the director of international relations for Spain’s rail administration (the Spanish acronym is ADIF), highlights ADIF’s collaboration with countries like Russia, Turkey, and Poland as they develop high-speed lines, noting that ADIF has also played an advisory role to the state of California’s rail planning efforts. Michael Clausecker, director of UNIFE, the Association of the European Rail Industry, adds that UNIFE regularly brings representatives from Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, to Spain to learn from the Spanish system. As Clausecker concludes, “Spain is a role model for infrastructure investments.”

Extract from an article published in the magazine Technology Review.
www.technologyreview.com/microsites/spain/transportation.aspx

In the past, driverless trains operated on tracks equipped with detectors to determine whether a train was on top of that particular segment. The latest system that Dimetronic and other companies have developed is called communication-based train control (CBTC) and involves constant radio communication between the track and the train. With this system, the control center is aware at all times of the exact location of every train, and can communicate directly with the train in real time to avoid dangerous situations. This technology also involves energy-saving algorithms, such as one that detects a downhill gradient and instructs a train not to accelerate, since the downhill slope will accelerate the train without any increase in power. CBTC-controlled trains can increase the capacity of a given line up to about 30 percent more passengers per day.

The first line in Madrid to be controlled by CBTC technology began running in October 2010. Dimetronic is also involved in creating a new line powered by CBTC in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which is slated to open by the end of 2011; another in Caracas, Venezuela; and a totally unmanned line in Singapore.

Not long ago, Sener was asked to evaluate the problems that were plaguing an overcrowded subway line in Santiago de Chile, in Chile. The government found itself having to temporarily close down stations, because there was simply no more room for passengers. One long-term solution may be to build a parallel line, but in the short term, Sener engineers have found that more trains can be added by introducing a driverless system and automating the line. This has increased the line’s capacity without the need for expensive new construction.

Train equiped with CBTC system. Source: Dimetronic.

Powering the system

A major concern for local transportation authorities and com­panies involved in rail is how to cut down on energy use, and how to recover available energy. Ingeteam, an electrical engineer­ing company, has a division devoted to rail, from light rail and subways to high-speed trains. The company can supply a train’s entire power system, including the motor, its controls, power electronics, and onboard electrical solutions.

The company’s latest innovation offers a novel method to capture the energy expended by braking at the station. “Usually, that energy can be captured by the electrical lines and fed into another train that needs energy,” says Angel Laurrieta, CEO of Ingeteam’s traction division. “But that situation doesn’t always occur, because there isn’t always a match between a braking and accelerating train.”

So to avoid wasting braking energy—of particular interest to city-based metros and regional trains—Ingeteam engineers designed a system that directs the energy straight into the rail’s electrical system and allows it to be used by any other part of the same system. “This can supply about 10 percent of the total energy needs for the train,” says Laurrieta. The system works in parallel with any existing physical setup, extracting the energy and routing it to other uses within the network.

“This is incredibly important,” points out Laurrieta. “Rail administrations are quite conservative,” and are interested in new technologies that obviate the need to change existing hardware.

The system has thus far been in operation for a year in the metro system of Bilbao, in the north of Spain. Ingeteam has attracted interest from public transportation systems in the U.S. and in other cities in Europe and Latin America.

Spain’s rail expansion continues to attract visitors from around the world. Joaquín Jiménez, the director of international relations for Spain’s rail administration (the Spanish acronym is ADIF), highlights ADIF’s collaboration with countries like Russia, Turkey, and Poland as they develop high-speed lines, noting that ADIF has also played an advisory role to the state of California’s rail planning efforts. Michael Clausecker, director of UNIFE, the Association of the European Rail Industry, adds that UNIFE regularly brings representatives from Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, to Spain to learn from the Spanish system. As Clausecker concludes, “Spain is a role model for infrastructure investments.”

Extract from an article published in the magazine Technology Review.
www.technologyreview.com/microsites/spain/transportation.aspx