Technology for a more sustainable rail system

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC IS IMPLEMENTING MEASURES TO ACHIEVE ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS.

The energy transition has driven the need to reduce CO2 emissions in all sectors. Ours is no exception. Actually, transport is responsible for a quarter of emissions and 4.2% of that figure comes from the rail segment. As a result, the main players in the market are already implementing measures to achieve energy improvements.

There have already been several initiatives to optimize the energy consumption of the train traction system – responsible for almost 85% of the consumption of the railway sector – trying to recover the energy from braking to feed it to the grid or, using batteries and supercapacitors, to take advantage of this system and reduce consumption during the journey. Also, market leaders are discussing about creating system to teach train drivers how to be more sustainable while driving or, as consumption is linked to the orography, to seek the most suitable route when building roads.

Regarding train stations, there are several lines of action. Stations are facilities with great potential to integrate renewable energies, as they have enough space on their roofs to install important powers of photovoltaic energy, or energy storage battery systems. In addition, the currently available technology would allow them to focus on efficiency, implementing building control systems to optimize consumption – climate, heating, lighting … -, monitoring energy and even assigning costs to the purchasing areas included in these facilities.

On the other hand, microgrid control systems could help train stations to use energy cleverly and reduce electricity bills, taking into account weather conditions, energy prices, consumption profiles, etc. In addition, the electric vehicle will have a large presence in large stations – it is expected that in 2025-2030, 100% of the rental vehicle fleets will be electric – and therefore it will be necessary to have charging infrastructures and a system to manage them.

Schneider Electric in this area has solutions of all kinds, for low voltage, microgrid control, BMS… On this matter, the company is working with ADIF to develop systems for passenger stations management, to help them improve in terms of both operation and energy efficiency.

Visit Schneider Electric’s blog in Spanish in order to discover more: blogespanol.se.com