Railway

electrification
system

Electric locomotives under the wires in Sweden

A railway electrification system supplies
electric power to railway trains and trams
without an on-board prime mover or local
fuel supply. Electric railways use electric
locomotives to haul passengers or freight
in separate cars or electric multiple units,
passenger cars with their own motors.
Electricity is typically generated in large
and relatively efficient generating stations,
transmitted to the railway network and
distributed to the trains. Some electric
railways have their own dedicated
generating stations and transmission lines
but most purchase power from an electric
utility. The railway usually provides its own
distribution lines, switches and
transformers.

Power is supplied to moving trains with a

(nearly) continuous conductor running
along the track that usually takes one of
two forms: overhead line, suspended from
poles or towers along the track or from
structure or tunnel ceilings; third rail
mounted at track level and contacted by a
sliding "pickup shoe". Both overhead wire
and third-rail systems usually use the
running rails as the return conductor but
some systems use a separate fourth rail
for this purpose.
In comparison to the principal alternative,
the diesel engine, electric railways offer
substantially better energy efficiency,
lower emissions and lower operating
costs. Electric locomotives are also
usually quieter, more powerful, and more
responsive and reliable than diesels. They
have no local emissions, an important
advantage in tunnels and urban areas.
Some electric traction systems provide
regenerative braking that turns the train's
kinetic energy back into electricity and
returns it to the supply system to be used
by other trains or the general utility grid.
While diesel locomotives burn petroleum,
electricity can be generated from diverse
sources including renewable energy.

Disadvantages of electric traction include

high capital costs that may be
uneconomic on lightly trafficked routes; a
relative lack of flexibility - since electric
trains need electrified tracks (or overhead
wires)- and a vulnerability to power
interruptions. Different regions may use
different supply voltages and frequencies,
complicating through service and requiring
greater complexity of locomotive power.
The limited clearances available under
overhead lines may preclude efficient
double-stack container service.
Railway electrification has constantly
increased in the past decades, and as of
2012, electrified tracks account for nearly
one third of total tracks globally.[1]

Classification

Electrification systems in Europe:

   Non-electrified
   750 V DC
   1.5 kV DC
   3 kV DC
   15 kV AC
   25 kV AC
High speed lines in France, Spain, Italy, United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey
operate under 25 kV, as do high power lines in the
former Soviet Union as well.

Electrification systems are classified by

three main parameters:

Voltage
Current
Direct current (DC)
Alternating current (AC)
Frequency
Contact system
Third rail
Fourth rail
 Overhead lines (catenary)
Overhead lines plus linear
motor
Four rail system
Five rail system

Selection of an electrification system is

based on economics of energy supply,
maintenance, and capital cost compared
to the revenue obtained for freight and
passenger traffic. Different systems are
used for urban and intercity areas; some
electric locomotives can switch to
different supply voltages to allow flexibility
in operation.
Standardised voltages

Six of the most commonly used voltages

have been selected for European and
international standardisation. These are
independent of the contact system used,
so that, for example, 750 V DC may be
used with either third rail or overhead lines.

There are many other voltage systems

used for railway electrification systems
around the world, and the list of railway
electrification systems covers both
standard voltage and non-standard voltage
systems.
The permissible range of voltages allowed
for the standardised voltages is as stated
in standards BS EN 50163[2] and
IEC 60850.[3] These take into account the
number of trains drawing current and their
distance from the substation.

Voltage
Electrification
Min. non- Min. Max. Max. non-
system Nominal
permanent permanent permanent permanent

600 V DC 400 V 400 V 600 V 720 V 800 V

750 V DC 500 V 500 V 750 V 900 V 1,000 V

1,500 V DC 1,000 V 1,000 V 1,500 V 1,800 V 1,950 V

3 kV DC 2 kV 2 kV 3 kV 3.6 kV 3.9 kV

15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz 11 kV 12 kV 15 kV 17.25 kV 18 kV

25 kV AC, 50 Hz

(EN 50163)
17.5 kV 19 kV 25 kV 27.5 kV 29 kV
and 60 Hz (IEC
60850)

Direct current
Railroad rotary converter at Illinois Railway Museum

Railways must operate at variable speeds.

Until the mid 1950s this was only practical
with the brush-type DC motor, although
such DC can be supplied from an AC
catenary via on-board electric power
conversion. Since such conversion was
not well developed in the late 19th century
and early 20th century, most early
electrified railways used DC and many still
do, particularly rapid transit (subways) and
trams. Speed was controlled by
connecting the traction motors in various
series-parallel combinations, by varying
the traction motors' fields, and by inserting
and removing starting resistances to limit
motor current.

Motors have very little room for electrical

insulation so they generally have low
voltage ratings. Because transformers
(prior to the development of power
electronics) cannot step down DC
voltages, trains were supplied with a
relatively low DC voltage that the motors
can use directly. The most common DC
voltages are listed in the previous section.
Third (and fourth) rail systems almost
always use voltages below 1 kV for safety
reasons while overhead wires usually use
higher voltages for efficiency. ("Low"
voltage is relative; even 600 V can be
instantly lethal when touched.)

Since utilities supply high-voltage AC, DC

railways use converter stations to produce
relatively low-voltage DC (usually 3000
volts or less). Originally they used rotary
converters, a few of which are even still in
operation, but most were supplanted first
by mercury arc rectifiers and then by
semiconductor rectifiers.
Because electrical power is equal to
voltage times current, the relatively low
voltages in existing DC systems imply
relatively high currents. If the DC power in
the contact wire is to be supplied directly
to the DC traction motors, minimizing
resistive losses requires thick, short
supply cables/wires and closely spaced
converter stations.

The distance between feeder stations on a

750 V third-rail system is about 2.5 km
(1.6 mi). The distance between feeder
stations at 3 kV is about 7.5 km (4.7 mi).
Because of these problems, modern high-
speed rail projects have generally used
high-voltage AC once the technology
became available. There has, however,
been interest among railroad operators in
returning to DC use at higher voltages than
previously used. At the same voltage, DC
often has less loss than AC, and for this
reason high-voltage direct current is
already used on some bulk power
transmission lines. DC avoids the
electromagnetic radiation inherent with
AC, and on a railway this also reduces
interference with signalling and
communications and mitigates
hypothetical EMF risks. DC also avoids the
power factor problems of AC. Of particular
interest to railroading is that DC can
supply constant power with a single
ungrounded wire. Constant power with AC
requires three-phase transmission with at
least two ungrounded wires. Another
important consideration is that mains-
frequency three-phase AC must be
carefully planned to avoid unbalanced
phase loads. Parts of the system are
supplied from different phases on the
assumption that the total loads of the
three phases will even out. At the phase
break points between regions supplied
from different phases, long insulated
supply breaks are required to avoid them
being shorted by rolling stock using more
than one pantograph at a time. A few
railroads have tried three-phase but its
substantial complexity has made single-
phase standard practice despite the
interruption in power flow that occurs
twice every cycle. An experimental 6 kV DC
railway was built in the Soviet Union.

The increasing availability of high-voltage

semiconductors may allow the use of
higher and more efficient DC voltages that
heretofore have only been practical with
AC.[4]
Some DC locomotives used motor-
generator sets as "stepdown transformers"
to produce more convenient voltages for
auxiliary loads such as lighting, fans and
compressors but they are inefficient, noisy
and unreliable. Solid-state converters have
replaced them. State-of-the-art
locomotives (diesel-electric as well as
electric) have even replaced the traditional
universal-type traction motor with a three-
phase AC induction motor driven by a
special-purpose AC inverter, a variable
frequency drive.

Overhead systems
Class EM1 locos on the 1,500 V DC Woodhead Line

Nottingham Express Transit in United Kingdom uses a

750 V DC overhead, in common with most modern
tram systems.

1,500 V DC is used in Japan, Indonesia,

Hong Kong (parts), Republic of Ireland,
Australia (parts), France (also using 25 kV
50 Hz AC), New Zealand (Wellington),
Singapore (on the North East MRT Line),
the United States (Chicago area on the
Metra Electric district and the South Shore
Line interurban line and in Seattle,
Washington – Sound Transit light-rail
lines). In Slovakia, there are two narrow-
gauge lines in the High Tatras (one a cog
railway). In the Netherlands it is used on
the main system, alongside 25 kV on the
HSL-Zuid and Betuwelijn, and 3000 V
south of Maastricht. In Portugal, it is used
in the Cascais Line and in Denmark on the
suburban S-train system (1650 V DC).
In the United Kingdom, 1,500 V DC was
used in 1954 for the Woodhead trans-
Pennine route (now closed); the system
used regenerative braking, allowing for
transfer of energy between climbing and
descending trains on the steep
approaches to the tunnel. The system was
also used for suburban electrification in
East London and Manchester, now
converted to 25 kV AC. It is now only used
for the Tyne and Wear Metro. In India,
1,500 V DC was the first electrification
system launched in 1925 in Mumbai area.
Between 2012-2016, the electrification
was converted to 25 kV 50 Hz AC which is
the countrywide system.
3 kV DC is used in Belgium, Italy, Spain,
Poland, the northern Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Chile,
former Soviet Union countries (also using
25 kV 50 Hz AC) and the Netherlands
(from south of the city of Maastricht to the
Belgium border, which is currently
exclusively used by the Belgium NMBS rail
company). It was formerly used by the
Milwaukee Road from Harlowton, Montana
to Seattle-Tacoma, across the Continental
Divide and including extensive branch and
loop lines in Montana, and by the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
(now New Jersey Transit, converted to
25 kV AC) in the United States, and the
Kolkata suburban railway (Bardhaman
Main Line) in India, before it was
converted to 25 kV 50 Hz AC.

DC voltages between 600 V and 800 V are

used by most tramways (streetcars),
trolleybus networks and underground
(subway) systems.

Overhead systems with linear

motor

See overhead systems with linear motor

Third rail
A bottom-contact third rail on the Amsterdam Metro,
Netherlands

Most electrification systems use overhead

wires, but third rail is an option up to
1,500 V, as is the case with Shenzhen
Metro Line 3. Third rail systems exclusively
use DC distribution. The use of AC is not
feasible because the dimensions of a third
rail are physically very large compared
with the skin depth that the alternating
current penetrates to 0.3 millimetres or
0.012 inches in a steel rail. This effect
makes the resistance per unit length
unacceptably high compared with the use
of DC.[5] Third rail is more compact than
overhead wires and can be used in
smaller-diameter tunnels, an important
factor for subway systems.

With top-contact third (and fourth) rail a heavy shoe

attached to the underside of a wooden beam which in
turn is attached to the bogie, collects power by sliding
over the top surface of the conductor rail.
Third-rail systems can be designed to use
top contact, side contact, or bottom
contact. Top contact is less safe, as the
live rail is exposed to people treading on
the rail unless an insulating hood is
provided. Side- and bottom-contact third
rail can easily have safety shields
incorporated, carried by the rail itself.
Uncovered top-contact third rails are
vulnerable to disruption caused by ice,
snow and fallen leaves.

Arcs like this are normal and occur when the

collection shoes of a train drawing power reach the
end of a section of power rail.

DC systems (especially third-rail systems)

prevent the use of low-level platforms and
are limited to relatively low voltages. The
latter can limit the size and speed of trains,
and limit the power available to passenger
comforts, such as air-conditioning. The
low voltage also means that long distance
transmission is inefficient and thus
frequent transformers are required along
the length of the line. This may be a factor
favouring overhead wires and high-voltage
AC, even for urban usage. In practice, the
top speed of trains on third-rail systems is
limited to 100 mph (160 km/h) because
above that speed reliable contact between
the shoe and the rail cannot be
maintained.

Some street trams (streetcars) used

conduit third-rail current collection. The
third rail was below street level. The tram
picked up the current through a plough
(U.S. "plow") accessed through a narrow
slot in the road. In the United States, much
(though not all) of the former streetcar
system in Washington, D.C. (discontinued
in 1962) was operated in this manner to
avoid the unsightly wires and poles
associated with electric traction. The
same was true with Manhattan's former
streetcar system. The evidence of this
mode of running can still be seen on the
track down the slope on the northern
access to the abandoned Kingsway
Tramway Subway in central London,
United Kingdom, where the slot between
the running rails is clearly visible, and on P
and Q Streets west of Wisconsin Avenue in
the Georgetown neighborhood of
Washington DC, where the abandoned
tracks have not been paved over. The slot
can easily be confused with the similar
looking slot for cable trams/cars (in some
cases, the conduit slot was originally a
cable slot). The disadvantage of conduit
collection included much higher initial
installation costs, higher maintenance
costs, and problems with leaves and snow
getting in the slot. For this reason, in
Washington, D.C. cars on some lines
converted to overhead wire on leaving the
city center, a worker in a "plough pit"
disconnecting the plough while another
raised the trolley pole (hitherto hooked
down to the roof) to the overhead wire. In
New York City for the same reasons of
cost and operating efficiency outside of
Manhattan overhead wire was used. A
similar system of changeover from
conduit to overhead wire was also used on
the London tramways, notably on the
southern side; a typical changeover point
was at Norwood, where the conduit
snaked sideways from between the
running rails, to provide a park for
detached shoes or ploughs.

A new approach to avoiding overhead

wires is taken by the "second generation"
tram/streetcar system in Bordeaux, France
(entry into service of the first line in
December 2003; original system
discontinued in 1958) with its APS
(alimentation par sol – ground current
feed). This involves a third rail which is
flush with the surface like the tops of the
running rails. The circuit is divided into
segments with each segment energized in
turn by sensors from the car as it passes
over it, the remainder of the third rail
remaining "dead". Since each energized
segment is completely covered by the
lengthy articulated cars, and goes dead
before being "uncovered" by the passage
of the vehicle, there is no danger to
pedestrians. This system has also been
adopted in some sections of the new tram
systems in Reims, France (opened 2011)
and Angers, France (also opened 2011).
Proposals are in place for a number of
other new services including Dubai, UAE;
Barcelona, Spain; Florence, Italy; Marseille,
France; Gold Coast, Australia; Washington,
D.C., U.S.A.; Brasília, Brazil and Tours,
France.

Fourth rail

London Underground track at Ealing Common on the

District line, showing the third and fourth rails beside
and between the running rails

The London Underground in England is

one of the few networks that uses a four-
rail system. The additional rail carries the
electrical return that, on third rail and
overhead networks, is provided by the
running rails. On the London Underground,
a top-contact third rail is beside the track,
energized at +420 V DC, and a top-contact
fourth rail is located centrally between the
running rails at −210 V DC, which combine
to provide a traction voltage of 630 V DC.
The same system was used for Milan's
earliest underground line, Milan Metro's
line 1, whose more recent lines use an
overhead catenary or a third rail.

The key advantage of the four-rail system

is that neither running rail carries any
current. This scheme was introduced
because of the problems of return
currents, intended to be carried by the
earthed (grounded) running rail, flowing
through the iron tunnel linings instead.
This can cause electrolytic damage and
even arcing if the tunnel segments are not
electrically bonded together. The problem
was exacerbated because the return
current also had a tendency to flow
through nearby iron pipes forming the
water and gas mains. Some of these,
particularly Victorian mains that predated
London's underground railways, were not
constructed to carry currents and had no
adequate electrical bonding between pipe
segments. The four-rail system solves the
problem. Although the supply has an
artificially created earth point, this
connection is derived by using resistors
which ensures that stray earth currents are
kept to manageable levels. Power-only
rails can be mounted on strongly
insulating ceramic chairs to minimise
current leak, but this is not possible for
running rails which have to be seated on
stronger metal chairs to carry the weight
of trains. However, elastomeric rubber
pads placed between the rails and chairs
can now solve part of the problem by
insulating the running rails from the
current return should there be a leakage
through the running rails.
On tracks that London Underground share
with National Rail third-rail stock (the
Bakerloo and District lines both have such
sections), the centre rail is connected to
the running rails, allowing both types of
train to operate, at a compromise voltage
of 660 V. Underground trains pass from
one section to the other at speed; lineside
electrical connections and resistances
separate the two types of supply. These
routes were originally solely electrified on
the four-rail system by the LNWR before
National Rail trains were rewired to their
standard three-rail system to simplify
rolling stock use.
Fourth-rail trains occasionally operate on
the National third-rail system. To do so, the
centre-rail shoes are bonded to the
wheels. This bonding must be removed
before operating again on fourth-rail
tracks, to avoid creating a short-circuit.

Linear motor

Five rail system

An S-series train in its original (1985–2015) livery

leaving Lawrence East, bound for McCowan. Note the
strip between the running rails.

In the case of Scarborough Line 3, the third

and fourth rails are outside the track and
the fifth rail is an aluminum strip between
the running rails.

Rubber tyred systems

Bogie from an MP 89 Paris Métro rolling stock. The

lateral contact shoe is located between the rubber
tyres
 

The bogie of an MP 05, showing the flanged steel

wheel inside the rubber tyred one, as well as the
vertical contact shoe on top of the steel rail.

A few lines of the Paris Métro in France

operate on a four-rail power scheme. The
trains move on rubber tyres which roll on a
pair of narrow roll ways made of steel and,
in some places, of concrete. Since the
tyres do not conduct the return current, the
two guide bars provided outside the
running 'roll ways' become, in a sense, a
third and fourth rail which each provide
750 V DC, so at least electrically it is a
four-rail scheme. Each wheel set of a
powered truck carries one traction motor.
A side sliding (side running) contact shoe
picks up the current from the vertical face
of each guide bar. The return of each
traction motor, as well as each wagon, is
effected by one contact shoe each that
slide on top of each one of the running
rails. This and all other rubber-tyred
metros that have a 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in)
standard gauge track between the roll
ways operate in the same manner.[6][7]

Alternating current
 

Image of a sign for high voltage above railway

electrification system

Railways and electrical utilities use AC for

the same reason: to use transformers,
which require AC, to produce higher
voltages. The higher the voltage, the lower
the current for the same power, which
reduces line loss, thus allowing higher
power to be delivered.

Because alternating current is used with

high voltages, this method of
electrification is only used on overhead
wires, never on third rails. Inside the
locomotive, a transformer steps the
voltage down for use by the traction
motors and auxiliary loads.

An early advantage of AC is that the

power-wasting resistors used in DC
locomotives for speed control were not
needed in an AC locomotive: multiple taps
on the transformer can supply a range of
voltages. Separate low-voltage
transformer windings supply lighting and
the motors driving auxiliary machinery.
More recently, the development of very
high power semiconductors has caused
the classic "universal" AC/DC motor to be
largely replaced with the three-phase
induction motor fed by a variable
frequency drive, a special inverter that
varies both frequency and voltage to
control motor speed. These drives can run
equally well on DC or AC of any frequency,
and many modern electric locomotives are
designed to handle different supply
voltages and frequencies to simplify
cross-border operation.

Low-frequency alternating
current
 

15 kV 16.7 Hz AC system used in Switzerland

DC commutating electric motors, if fitted

with laminated pole pieces, become
universal motors because they can also
operate on AC; reversing the current in
both stator and rotor does not reverse the
motor. However, the now-standard AC
distribution frequencies of 50 and 60 Hz
caused difficulties with inductive
reactance and eddy current losses, so
many railways chose low AC frequencies
to overcome these problems. They must
be converted from utility power by motor-
generators or static inverters at the
feeding substations or generated at
dedicated traction powerstations.

These low frequencies were later made

unnecessary by high power locomotive
rectifiers that can convert any AC
frequency to DC: first the mercury-arc
rectifier and then the semiconductor
rectifier. Some AC railways have been
converted to standard grid frequencies,
but low frequencies are still widely used
due to large sunken equipment costs.
Five European countries, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Norway and Sweden, have
standardized on 15 kV 162⁄3 Hz (the 50 Hz
mains frequency divided by three) single-
phase AC. On 16 October 1995, Germany,
Austria and Switzerland changed from
162⁄3 Hz to 16.7 Hz which is no longer
exactly one-third of the grid frequency.
This solved overheating problems with the
rotary converters used to generate some
of this power from the grid supply.[8]

High-voltage AC overhead systems are not

only for standard gauge national networks.
The meter gauge Rhaetian Railway (RhB)
and the neighbouring Matterhorn Gotthard
Bahn (MGB) operate on 11 kV at 16.7 Hz
frequency. Practice has proven that both
Swiss and German 15 kV trains can
operate under these lower voltages. The
RhB started trials of the 11 kV system in
1913 on the Engadin line (St. Moritz-
Scuol/Tarasp). The MGB constituents
Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) and Brig-Visp-
Zermatt Bahn (BVZ) introduced their
electric services in 1941 and 1929
respectively, adopting the already proven
RhB system.

In the United States, 25 Hz, a once-

common industrial power frequency, is
used on Amtrak's 25 Hz traction power
system at 12 kV on the Northeast Corridor
between Washington, D.C. and New York
City and on the Keystone Corridor between
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.
SEPTA's 25 Hz traction power system uses
the same 12 kV voltage on the catenary in
Northeast Philadelphia. This allows for the
trains to operate on both the Amtrak and
SEPTA power systems. Apart from having
an identical catenary voltage, the power
distribution systems of Amtrak and SEPTA
are very different. The Amtrak power
distribution system has a 138 kV
transmission network that provides power
to substations which then transform the
voltage to 12 kV to feed the catenary
system. The SEPTA power distribution
system uses a 2:1 ratio autotransformer
system, with the catenary fed at 12 kV and
a return feeder wire fed at 24 kV. The New
York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
used an 11 kV system between New York
City and New Haven, Connecticut, which
was converted to 12.5 kV 60 Hz in 1987.

In the UK, the London, Brighton and South

Coast Railway pioneered overhead
electrification of its suburban lines in
London, London Bridge to Victoria being
opened to traffic on 1 December 1909.
Victoria to Crystal Palace via Balham and
West Norwood opened in May 1911.
Peckham Rye to West Norwood opened in
June 1912. Further extensions were not
made owing to the First World War. Two
lines opened in 1925 under the Southern
Railway serving Coulsdon North and
Sutton railway station.[9][10][11] The lines
were electrified at 6.7 kV 25 Hz. It was
announced in 1926 that all lines were to be
converted to DC third rail and the last
overhead electric service ran in September
1929.

Polyphase alternating current

systems
 

Double pantograph for three phase electrification on

the Jungfraubahn, Switzerland

Three-phase AC railway electrification was

used in Italy, Switzerland and the United
States in the early twentieth century. Italy
was the major user, for lines in the
mountainous regions of northern Italy
from 1901 until 1976. The first lines were
the Burgdorf-Thun line in Switzerland
(1899), and the lines of the Ferrovia della
Valtellina from Colico to Chiavenna and
Tirano in Italy, which were electrified in
1901 and 1902. Other lines where the
three-phase system were used were the
Simplon Tunnel in Switzerland from 1906
to 1930, and the Cascade Tunnel of the
Great Northern Railway in the United
States from 1909 to 1927.

The early systems used a low frequency

(162⁄3 Hz), and a relatively low voltage
(3,000 or 3,600 volts) compared with later
AC systems. The system provides
regenerative braking with the power fed
back to the system, so it is particularly
suitable for mountain railways provided
the supply grid or another locomotive on
the line can accept the power.
Three-phase systems have the serious
disadvantage of requiring at least two
separate overhead conductors plus rail
return. Locomotives operate at one, two or
four constant speeds. Most modern
locomotives with variable frequency drives
can also do regenerative braking on both
AC and DC systems and are not limited to
constant speeds.

The system is still used on four mountain

railways, using 725 to 3000 V at 50 or
60 Hz: the Corcovado Rack Railway in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, Jungfraubahn and
Gornergratbahn in Switzerland, and the
Petit train de la Rhune in France.
Standard frequency alternating
current

Close-up view of catenary on Northeast Corridor,

United States

Workers electrifying parts of the Roca Line in Buenos

Aires using 25 kV electrification.
Only in the 1950s after development in
France (20 kV; later 25 kV) and former
Soviet Railways countries (25 kV) did the
standard-frequency single-phase
alternating current system become
widespread, despite the simplification of a
distribution system which could use the
existing power supply network.

The first attempts to use standard-

frequency single-phase AC were made in
Hungary as far back as 1923, by the
Hungarian Kálmán Kandó on the line
between Budapest-Nyugati and Alag, using
16 kV at 50 Hz. The locomotives carried a
four-pole rotating phase converter feeding
a single traction motor of the polyphase
induction type at 600 to 1,100 V. The
number of poles on the 2,500 hp motor
could be changed using slip rings to run at
one of four synchronous speeds. The tests
were a success so, from 1932 until the
1960s, trains on the Budapest-
Hegyeshalom line (towards Vienna)
regularly used the same system. A few
decades after the Second World War, the
16 kV was changed to the Russian and
later French 25 kV system.

Today, some locomotives in this system

use a transformer and rectifier to provide
low-voltage pulsating direct current to
motors. Speed is controlled by switching
winding taps on the transformer. More
sophisticated locomotives use thyristor or
IGBT circuitry to generate chopped or even
variable-frequency alternating current (AC)
that is then supplied to the AC induction
traction motors.

This system is quite economical but it has

its drawbacks: the phases of the external
power system are loaded unequally and
there is significant electromagnetic
interference generated as well as
significant acoustic noise.
A list of the countries using the 25 kV
AC 50 Hz single-phase system can be
found in the List of railway electrification
systems. There are also a few lines listed
with 50 kV (60 Hz) electrification, mainly
long isolated lines hauling coal or ore in
the United States and Canada. The first
line (1973) using 50 kV was the Black
Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad. In South
Africa the Sishen–Saldanha railway line
hauling iron ore uses 50 kV (50 Hz).

The United States commonly uses 12.5

and 25 kV at 25 Hz or 60 Hz.
25 kV, 60 Hz AC is the preferred system for
new high-speed and long-distance
railways, even if the railway uses a
different system for existing trains.

To prevent the risk of out-of-phase

supplies mixing, sections of line fed from
different feeder stations must be kept
strictly isolated. This is achieved by
Neutral Sections (also known as Phase
Breaks), usually provided at feeder
stations and midway between them
although, typically, only half are in use at
any time, the others being provided to
allow a feeder station to be shut down and
power provided from adjacent feeder
stations. Neutral Sections usually consist
of an earthed section of wire which is
separated from the live wires on either
side by insulating material, typically
ceramic beads, designed so that the
pantograph will smoothly run from one
section to the other. The earthed section
prevents an arc being drawn from one live
section to the other, as the voltage
difference may be higher than the normal
system voltage if the live sections are on
different phases and the protective circuit
breakers may not be able to safely
interrupt the considerable current that
would flow. To prevent the risk of an arc
being drawn across from one section of
wire to earth, when passing through the
neutral section, the train must be coasting
and the circuit breakers must be open. In
many cases, this is done manually by the
drivers. To help them, a warning board is
provided just before both the neutral
section and an advance warning some
distance before. A further board is then
provided after the neutral section to tell
drivers to re-close the circuit breaker,
although drivers must not do this until the
rear pantograph has passed this board. In
the UK, a system known as Automatic
Power Control (APC) automatically opens
and closes the circuit breaker, this being
achieved by using sets of permanent
magnets alongside the track
communicating with a detector on the
train. The only action needed by the driver
is to shut off power and coast and
therefore warning boards are still provided
at and on the approach to neutral sections.

On French high-speed rail lines, the UK

High Speed 1 Channel Tunnel rail link and
in the Channel Tunnel, neutral sections are
negotiated automatically.

In Japanese Shinkansen lines, there are

ground-operated switched sections
installed instead of neutral sections. The
sections detect trains running within the
section and automatically switch the
power supply in 0.3 s,[12] which eliminates
the need to shut off power at any time.

Non-contact systems
It is possible to supply power to an electric
train by inductive coupling. This allows the
use of a high-voltage, insulated, conductor
rail. Such a system was patented in 1894
by Nikola Tesla, U.S. Patent 514,972 . It
requires the use of high-frequency
alternating current. Tesla did not specify a
frequency but George Trinkaus[13]
suggests that around 1,000 Hz would be
likely.
Inductive coupling is widely used in low-
power applications, such as re-chargeable
electric toothbrushes and more recently,
mobile telephones and wearable
computing devices (inductive charging).
The contactless technology for rail
vehicles is currently being marketed by
Bombardier as PRIMOVE.[14]

Energy efficiency
Electric vs Diesel

 
An early rail electrification substation at Dartford in
England, UK

Electric trains need not carry the weight of

prime movers, transmission and fuel. This
is partly offset by the weight of electrical
equipment.

Regenerative braking returns power to the

electrification system so that it may be
used elsewhere, by other trains on the
same system or returned to the general
power grid. This is especially useful in
mountainous areas where heavily loaded
trains must descend long grades.
Central station electricity can often be
generated with higher efficiency than a
mobile engine/generator. While the
efficiency of power plant generation and
diesel locomotive generation are roughly
the same in the nominal regime,[15] diesel
motors decrease in efficiency in non-
nominal regimes at low power [16] while if
an electric power plant needs to generate
less power it will shut down its least
efficient generators, thereby increasing
efficiency. The electric train can save
energy (as compared to diesel) by
regenerative braking and by not needing to
consume energy by idling as diesel
locomotives do when stopped or coasting.
However, electric rolling stock may run
cooling blowers when stopped or coasting,
thus consuming energy.

Large fossil fuel power stations operate at

high efficiency,[17][18] and can be used for
district heating or to produce district
cooling, leading to a higher total efficiency.

Energy sources unsuitable for mobile

power plants, such as nuclear power,
renewable hydroelectricity, or wind power
can be used. According to widely accepted
global energy reserve statistics,[19] the
reserves of liquid fuel are much less than
gas and coal (at 42, 167 and 416 years
respectively). Most countries with large rail
networks do not have significant oil
reserves and those that did, like the United
States and Britain, have exhausted much
of their reserves and have suffered
declining oil output for decades. Therefore,
there is also a strong economic incentive
to substitute other fuels for oil. Rail
electrification is often considered an
important route towards consumption
pattern reform.[20] However, there are no
reliable, peer-reviewed studies available to
assist in rational public debate on this
critical issue, although there are
untranslated Soviet studies from the
1980s.
AC vs DC for mainlines

Modern electrification systems take AC

energy from a power grid which is
delivered to a locomotive and converted to
a DC voltage to be used by traction
motors. These motors may either be DC
motors which directly use the DC or they
may be 3-phase AC motors which require
further conversion of the DC to 3-phase AC
(using power electronics). Thus both
systems are faced with the same task:
converting and transporting high-voltage
AC from the power grid to low-voltage DC
in the locomotive. The difference between
AC and DC electrification systems lies in
where the AC is converted to DC: at the
substation or on the train. Energy
efficiency and infrastructure costs
determine which of these is used on a
network, although this is often fixed due to
pre-existing electrification systems. Both
the transmission and conversion of
electric energy involve losses: ohmic
losses in wires and power electronics,
magnetic field losses in transformers and
smoothing reactors (inductors).[21] Power
conversion for a DC system takes place
mainly in a railway substation where large,
heavy, and more efficient hardware can be
used as compared to an AC system where
conversion takes place aboard the
locomotive where space is limited and
losses are significantly higher.[22] Also, the
energy used to blow air to cool
transformers, power electronics (including
rectifiers), and other conversion hardware
must be accounted for.

Comparison with diesel

traction
 

Lots Road Power Station in a poster from 1910. This

private power station, used by London Underground,
gave London trains and trams a power supply
independent from the main power network.

Electric locomotives may easily be

constructed with greater power output
than most diesel locomotives. For
passenger operation it is possible to
provide enough power with diesel engines
(see e.g. 'ICE TD') but, at higher speeds,
this proves costly and impractical.
Therefore, almost all high speed trains are
electric. The high power of electric
locomotives also gives them the ability to
pull freight at higher speed over gradients;
in mixed traffic conditions this increases
capacity when the time between trains can
be decreased. The higher power of electric
locomotives and an electrification can also
be a cheaper alternative to a new and less
steep railway if trains weights are to be
increased on a system.
On the other hand, electrification may not
be suitable for lines with low frequency of
traffic, because lower running cost of
trains may be outweighed by the high cost
of the electrification infrastructure.
Therefore, most long-distance lines in
developing or sparsely populated
countries are not electrified due to
relatively low frequency of trains.

Maintenance costs of the lines may be

increased by electrification, but many
systems claim lower costs due to reduced
wear-and-tear from lighter rolling stock.[23]
There are some additional maintenance
costs associated with the electrical
equipment around the track, such as
power sub-stations and the catenary wire
itself, but, if there is sufficient traffic, the
reduced track and especially the lower
engine maintenance and running costs
exceed the costs of this maintenance
significantly.

Network effects are a large factor with

electrification. When converting lines to
electric, the connections with other lines
must be considered. Some electrifications
have subsequently been removed because
of the through traffic to non-electrified
lines. If through traffic is to have any
benefit, time consuming engine switches
must occur to make such connections or
expensive dual mode engines must be
used. This is mostly an issue for long
distance trips, but many lines come to be
dominated by through traffic from long-
haul freight trains (usually running coal,
ore, or containers to or from ports). In
theory, these trains could enjoy dramatic
savings through electrification, but it can
be too costly to extend electrification to
isolated areas, and unless an entire
network is electrified, companies often
find that they need to continue use of
diesel trains even if sections are
electrified. The increasing demand for
container traffic which is more efficient
when utilizing the double-stack car also
has network effect issues with existing
electrifications due to insufficient
clearance of overhead electrical lines for
these trains, but electrification can be built
or modified to have sufficient clearance, at
additional cost.

Additionally, there are issues of

connections between different electrical
services, particularly connecting intercity
lines with sections electrified for
commuter traffic, but also between
commuter lines built to different
standards. This can cause electrification
of certain connections to be very
expensive simply because of the
implications on the sections it is
connecting. Many lines have come to be
overlaid with multiple electrification
standards for different trains to avoid
having to replace the existing rolling stock
on those lines. Obviously, this requires that
the economics of a particular connection
must be more compelling and this has
prevented complete electrification of many
lines. In a few cases, there are diesel trains
running along completely electrified routes
and this can be due to incompatibility of
electrification standards along the route.
A problem specifically related to electrified
lines are gaps in the electrification. Electric
vehicles, especially locomotives, lose
power when traversing gaps in the supply,
such as phase change gaps in overhead
systems, and gaps over points in third rail
systems. These become a nuisance, if the
locomotive stops with its collector on a
dead gap, in which case there is no power
to restart. Power gaps can be overcome by
on-board batteries or motor-flywheel-
generator systems. In 2014, progress is
being made in the use of large capacitors
to power electric vehicles between
stations, and so avoid the need for
overhead wires between those stations.[24]
Advantages

No exposure to passengers to exhaust

from the locomotive
Lower cost of building, running and
maintaining locomotives and multiple
units
Higher power-to-weight ratio (no
onboard fuel tanks), resulting in
Fewer locomotives
Faster acceleration
Higher practical limit of power
Higher limit of speed
Less noise pollution (quieter operation)
Faster acceleration clears lines more
quickly to run more trains on the track in
urban rail uses
Reduced power loss at higher altitudes
(for power loss see Diesel engine)
Independence of running costs from
fluctuating fuel prices
Service to underground stations where
diesel trains cannot operate for safety
reasons
Reduced environmental pollution,
especially in highly populated urban
areas, even if electricity is produced by
fossil fuels
 Easily accommodates kinetic energy
brake reclaim using supercapacitors
More comfortable ride on multiple units
as trains have no underfloor diesel
engines
Somewhat higher energy efficiency [25]
in part due to regenerative braking and
less power lost when "idling"
More flexible primary energy source: can
use coal, nuclear, hydro or wind as the
primary energy source instead of oil

Disadvantages
 

The Royal Border Bridge in England, a protected

monument. Adding electric catenary to older

structures may be an expensive cost of electrification

projects

Most overhead electrifications do not allow sufficient

clearance for a double-stack car.

Electrification cost: electrification

requires an entire new infrastructure to
be built around the existing tracks at a
significant cost. Costs are especially
high when tunnels, bridges and other
obstructions have to be altered for
clearance. Another aspect that can raise
the cost of electrification are the
alterations or upgrades to railway
signalling needed for new traffic
characteristics, and to protect signalling
circuitry and track circuits from
interference by traction current.
Electrification may require line closures
while the new equipment is being
installed.
Electrical grid load: adding a major new
consumer of electricity can have
adverse effects on the electrical grid
and may necessitate an increase in the
grid's power output. However, a railway
can be electrified in such manner, that it
has a closed and independent electrical
network of its own and backup power
available if the national or state
electrical grid suffers from downtime.
Appearance: the overhead line
structures and cabling can have a
significant landscape impact compared
with a non-electrified or third rail
electrified line that has only occasional
signalling equipment above ground
level.
Fragility and vulnerability: overhead
electrification systems can suffer severe
disruption due to minor mechanical
faults or the effects of high winds
causing the pantograph of a moving
train to become entangled with the
catenary, ripping the wires from their
supports. The damage is often not
limited to the supply to one track, but
extends to those for adjacent tracks as
well, causing the entire route to be
blocked for a considerable time. Third-
rail systems can suffer disruption in cold
weather due to ice forming on the
conductor rail.[26]
Theft: the high scrap value of copper
and the unguarded, remote installations
make overhead cables an attractive
target for scrap metal thieves.[27]
Attempts at theft of live 25 kV cables
may end in the thief's death from
electrocution.[28] In the UK, cable theft is
claimed to be one of the biggest
sources of delay and disruption to train
services — though this normally relates
to signalling cable, which is equally
problematic for diesel lines.[29]
People may climb onto standing train
cars, and some are seriously hurt or
killed when they come too close to the
overhead contact line.[30][31]
 Birds may perch on parts with different
charges, and animals may also touch
the electrification system. Animals
fallen to the ground are fetched by foxes
or other predators.[32]
In most of the world's railway networks,
the height clearance of overhead
electrical lines is not sufficient for a
double-stack container car.

World electrification
In 2006, 240,000 km (150,000 mi) (25% by
length) of the world rail network was
electrified and 50% of all rail transport was
carried by electric traction.
In 2012 for electrified kilometers, China
surpassed Russia making it first place in
the world with over 48,000 km (30,000 mi)
electrified.[33] Trailing behind China were
Russia 43,300 km (26,900 mi), India
30,012 km (18,649 mi),[34] Germany
21,000 km (13,000 mi), Japan 17,000 km
(11,000 mi), and France 15,200 km
(9,400 mi).

Sparks effect
Newly electrified lines often show a
"sparks effect", whereby electrification in
passenger rail systems leads to significant
jumps in patronage / revenue.[35] The
reasons may include electric trains being
seen as more modern and attractive to
ride,[36][37] faster and smoother service,[35]
and the fact that electrification often goes
hand in hand with a general infrastructure
and rolling stock overhaul / replacement,
which leads to better service quality (in a
way that theoretically could also be
achieved by doing similar upgrades yet
without electrification). Whatever the
causes of the sparks effect, it is well
established for numerous routes that have
electrified over decades.[35][36]

Diesel island
A "diesel island" is a relatively short
section of non-electrified railway which is
surrounded by or connected to electrified
lines. They are called diesel "islands"
because generally they can only be used
by diesel trains. Such sections pose a
disadvantage in terms of operation,
because electric trains from the
surrounding lines cannot run on the
isolated diesel section.

See also
Baltimore Belt Line, the first mainline
railroad electrification in the United
States
Battery electric multiple unit
Battery locomotive
Conduit current collection
Current collector
Dual electrification
Ground-level power supply
History of the electric locomotive
List of railway electrification systems
Multi-system (rail)
Overhead conductor rails
Stud contact system
Traction current pylon
Traction powerstation
Traction substation
References
1. "Railway Handbook 2015" (PDF).
International Energy Agency. p. 18.
Retrieved 4 August 2017.
2. EN 50163: Railway applications. Supply
voltages of traction systems (2007)
3. IEC 60850: Railway applications – Supply
voltages of traction systems, 3rd edition
(2007)
4. P. Leandes and S. Ostlund. "A concept for
an HVDC traction system" in "International
conference on main line railway
electrification", Hessington, England,
September 1989 (Suggests 30 kV). Glomez-
Exposito A., Mauricio J.M., Maza-Ortega
J.M. "VSC-based MVDC Railway
Electrification System" IEEE transactions on
power delivery, v.29, no.1, Feb.2014.
(suggests 24 kV).
5. Donald G. Fink, H. Wayne Beatty
Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers
11th Edition, McGraw Hill, 1978 table 18-21.
See also Gomez-Exposito p.424, Fig.3
6. "[MétroPole] De la centrale électrique au
rail de traction" . 10 August 2004. Archived
from the original on 10 August 2004.
7. Dery, Bernard. "Truck (bogie) - Visual
Dictionary" . www.infovisual.info.
8. Linder, C. (2002). Umstellung der
Sollfrequenz im zentralen Bahnstromnetz
von 16 2/3 Hz auf 16,70 Hz [Switching the
frequency in train electric power supply
network from 16 2/3 Hz to 16,70 Hz].
Elektrische Bahnen (in German).
Oldenbourg-Industrieverlag. ISSN 0013-
5437 .
9. Southern Electric
10. History of Southern Electrification Part
1
11. History of Southern Electrification Part
2
12. Railway Technical Research Institute.
"Concurrent-feeding power switching
system for Shinkansen switching sections"
(PDF) (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 May 2011.

13. Trinkaus, George, Tesla, the lost

inventions, pp 28–29, High Voltage Press,
Portland, OR, 1988
14. "ECO4 Technologies - Sustainable
Transport Solutions" . Bombardier.
Retrieved 2016-02-04.
15. It turns out that the efficiency of
electricity generation by a modern diesel
locomotive is roughly the same as the
typical U.S. fossil-fuel power plant. The
heat rate of central power plants in 2012
was about 9.5k BTU/kwh per the Monthly
Energy Review of the U.S. Energy
Information Administration which
corresponds to an efficiency of 36%. Diesel
motors for locomotives have an efficiency
of about 40% (see Brake specific fuel
consumption, Дробинский p. 65 and
Иванова p.20.). But there are reductions
needed in both efficiencies needed to make
a comparison. First, one must degrade the
efficiency of central power plants by the
transmission losses to get the electricity to
the locomotive. Another correction is due
to the fact that efficiency for the Russian
diesel is based on the lower heat of
combustion of fuel while power plants in
the U.S. use the higher heat of combustion
(see Heat of combustion. Still another
correction is that the diesel's reported
efficiency neglects the fan energy used for
engine cooling radiators. See Дробинский
p. 65 and Иванова p.20 (who estimates
the on-board electricity generator as 96.5%
efficient). The result of all the above is that
modern diesel engines and central power
plants are both about 33% efficient at
generating electricity (in the nominal
regime).
16. Хомич А.З. Тупицын О.И., Симсон
А.Э. "Экономия топлива и
теплотехническая модернизация
тепловозов" (Fuel economy and the
thermodynamic modernization of diesel
locomotives) - Москва: Транспорт, 1975 -
264 pp. See Brake specific fuel
consumption curves on p. 202 and charts
of times spent in non-nominal regimes on
pp. 10-12
17. Wang, Ucilia (2011-05-25). "Gigaom GE
to Crank Up Gas Power Plants Like Jet
Engines" . Gigaom.com. Retrieved
2016-02-04.
18. [1] Archived 24 August 2012 at the
Wayback Machine.
19. "Worldometers – real time world
statistics" . Worldometers. Retrieved
27 January 2011.
20. "Year of revision to pattern of
consumption" . The Office of the Supreme
Leader, Sayyid Ali Khamenei. 20 March
2009. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
21. See Винокуров p.95+ Ch. 4: Потери и
коэффициент полизного действия;
нагреванние и охлаждение
электрических машин и
трансформаторов" (Losses and efficiency;
heating and cooling of electrical machinery
and transformers) magnetic losses pp.96-7,
ohmic losses pp.97-9
22. Сидоров 1988 pp. 103-4, Сидоров
1980 pp. 122-3
23. "UK Network Rail electrification strategy
report" Table 3.3, page 31. Retrieved on 4
May 2010
24. Railway Gazette International Oct 2014.
25. Per Railway electrification in the Soviet
Union#Energy-Efficiency it was claimed
that after the mid 1970s electrics used
about 25% less fuel per ton-km than
diesels. However, part of this savings may
be due to less stopping of electrics to let
opposing trains pass since diesels
operated predominately on single-track
lines, often with moderately heavy traffic.
26. "Committee Meeting - Royal
Meteorological Society - Spring 2009"
(PDF). Royal Meteorological Society
(rmets.org). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
27. "Network Rail - Cable Theft" . Network
Rail (www.networkrail.co.uk). Retrieved
15 September 2012.
28. "Police probe cable theft death link" .
ITV News. 27 June 2012. Retrieved
15 September 2012.
29. Sarah Saunders (28 June 2012). "Body
discovery linked to rail cables theft" . ITV
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police, 2013 -- 6 fatalities in 2012 in
Bayern" (PDF) (in German). 2013. Retrieved
July 10, 2017.
31. "Safety Database: UIC: Public Report:
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(PDF). International Union of Railways.
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32. Nachmann, Lars. "Tiere & Pflanzen
Vögel Gefährdungen Stromtod Mehr aus
dieser Rubrik Vorlesen Die tödliche
Gefahr" . Naturschutzbund (in German).
Berlin, Germany. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
33. See "Peoples Daily Online" (in English,
newspaper) 5 December 2012 China's
electric railway mileage exceeds 48,000
km
34. "Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)" .
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35. "Start Slow With Bullet Trains" . Miller-
McCune. 2 May 2011. Archived from the
original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved
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Railway Electrification System" IEEE
transactions on power delivery, v.29,
no.1, Feb.2014 pp. 422–431. (suggests
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Винокуров В.А., Попов Д.А.
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"Народнохозяйственная
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железных дорог и примениния
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effectiveness of railway electrification
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Дробинский В.А., Егунов П.М. "Как
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01046-4
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участков" (Regimes of operation of
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 Транспорт, 1988 (5th ed.) - 233 pp,
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