Light Rail 2016 — Transforming the urban transport landscape

Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions:

Return of experience after a 10-year development period

Speaker: Hervé MAZZONI

Tramway Product Line Manager / SYSTRA
ARAs 3rd annual Light Rail Conference & Exhibition – Melbourne – Feb. 2016
 Light Rail Transit Systems
and catenary free solutions
1 – The SYSTRA Group:
over 50 years of public transportation experience…

2 – What is a modern tram made of?

3 – All what you always wanted to know

about current collection technologies…

4 – Off-wire: is it the sure sign of a modern tram?

Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

–1–
The SYSTRA Group:
over 50 years of public
transportation experience…
 SYSTRA: world-leading tramway engineers

EXPERIENCE IN TRAMWAY…
 Planned, designed and tested over 75% of France
new tramway lines on time and within budget;
30 other projects worldwide.
 Holds the world record for new light rail/tramway
lines > 450 km.
 Record number of program management, planning,
design and construction management contracts
on light rail/tramway projects: 30 lines.
 Designed the world’s 1st catenary-free tramway line.

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Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

–2–
What is a modern tram
made of?
 What is a modern tram made of?

MODERN TRAM CHALLENGE

Reshaping the cities

thanks to technical innovations
or through
a taylor made right-of-way?

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 What is a modern tram made of?

TRAMWAY: AN EVOLVING CONCEPT

1980s: Low floor (Nantes, Paris)

1980s: Articulated bodies and modular vehicle (Nantes, Paris, Grenoble)

1990s: Rubber tyred solutions (Nancy, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand)

2000s: First off-wire solution (Bordeaux)

2010s: On-board energy storage (Zaragoza, Sevila)

Citadis in Reims (2011)

2010s: Non-continuous permeable slab (Bordeaux, Le Havre)

2010s: Energy saving solutions (Paris, Qatar, Kaohsiung)

2010s: Compact vehicle (Besançon)

November 2015: First 100% off-wire tramway line (Dubaï)

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 Characteristics of a modern tram system

 Open and at grade right-of-way,  Closed passenger stations/Platform Screen

integrated in the urban fabric Doors/Buried technical premises
in dedicated or shared lanes  Energy friendly system
 Run under driver’s responsibility  Grass track
and under road traffic rules
 Off-wire system
 Fully accessible system
(low floor at all doors)
 Full or partial flat floor
 Medium capacity system
between 2,000 to 8,000 pphpd
 Headway down to 3 minutes
Besançon / CAF compact vehicle

Page 8 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 Around 30-40% of the new LRT/Tram systems planned worldwide

have some form of off-wire element
 What about the positive and negative aspects presented
by the various solutions?
 How and where cost is added/removed from new tramway?
 Originally, the leading idea for developing off-wire current
collection solutions was the limitation of the eyesore
due to overhead wires in historical districts: is it still the guiding
motivation?
 Twelve years after the first achievement of this technology,
let’s have a look at the current situation

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 What do decision makers focus on?

Eyesore mitigation: a revolving issue…

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Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

–3–
All what you always wanted
to know about current
collection technologies…
 All what you always wanted to know
about current collection technologies…

OFF-WIRE SOLUTIONS:
revisiting the current collection technologies

Page 12 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 a) Ground level power supply

 Alstom - APS: ground level power collection

(Dubai, Angers, Bordeaux, Brasilia, Rio, Orleans, Reims, Tours…)

 Proprietary solution, recently made compatible with other vehicles

 Segregated safe for the pedestrians
 Regenerative braking toward 750Vdc source not implemented

Page 13 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 b) Ground level power supply

Ansaldo – Tramwave
 Proprietary solution, prototype implemented
in Napoli; first contract in Zhuhai (China)
compatibility with other vehicles pledged…
 Failsafe principle:
• magnetised collector shoe
• lifts a burried circuit ferrous belt connector

 Regenerative braking pledged being certified

from safety point of view, still under design (sept.
2012)

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 c) Ground Level Power Supplies

Bombardier – Primove
 Proprietary solution
 Ac current (high frequency) induction based
 Tested in Augsburg (Germany); first contract
 In Nanjing (China)
 Recently redevelopped in conjunction
with on-board energy storage
 Regenerative braking not originally
implemented

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 d) On-board energy storage solutions

 Energy storage containers:

• SuperCapacitors
• Rapid Charge Accumulator
= =
• or a combination of both solutions Traction
converter
3 3

Double-layer Double-layer
capacitors M M M M
capacitors

 Solutions developped by:

• Siemens
Dwell time must be at least equal to recharging time
• CAF
• Bombardier On-board regenerative braking possible
• Others… Roof mounted devices
Life expectancy of Supercap (not proven):
7 – 10 years?
Page 16 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions
 d) On-board energy storage solutions

 Still limited storage capacity In normal working conditions, with a vehicle at 2/3 loaded (70t)
and on a level track (0% gradient), the performance are in the
Example: an energy storage unit is range of:
equal to 2.8kWh in total:
• 1.0kWh from SuperCap
• 1.8kWh from traction battery Max speed
20 km/h 30 km/h 35 km/h
Auxiliary Power
One consider that a 30m long tram
vehicle needs 4.5kWh/km in “normal” 5 kW 1590 m 1240 m 1020 m
conditions
20 kW 1050 m 930 m 810 m
40 kW 720 m 700 m 620 m

In other terms, if you want to ride far, switch off the air con’d!

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Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

–4–
Off-wire: is it the sure sign
of a modern tram?
CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS
 Off-wire requirements prevailing other considerations?

Off-wire solutions have an impact on investment costs:

 Rolling stock: additional onboard equipment for
current collection (pantograph is kept) and for energy
storage (up to €300,000/vehicle)
 Proprietary solutions make more difficult or impossible
the purchase of vehicles made by other manufacturers
 Ground level equipment: cables, inverters, third rail,
switches, interlocking (up to M€1.8/km)
 Track lay-out: construction is more complex and some
solutions are not compatible with grass track

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 Off-wire requirements prevailing other considerations?

Off-wire solutions have an impact on operating

conditions:
 Off-wire technologies do not reach commonly accepted
acceleration rate and top speed
 Safety & RAM factors must be addressed

 OCS-only vehicles must be kept out of the off-wire lines

 Transition from/to OCS section to/from off-wire section

is performed at a station, when vehicle is stopped
 Ground level equipement for energy transfer must
accommodate with turnouts and road intersections

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 Off-wire requirements prevailing other considerations?

Off-wire solutions have an impact on O&M costs:

 First generation of off-wire solutions did not make
possible regenerative braking: one can believe that
the energy efficiency is around 15% to 20% less than
a conventional current collection system
 2nd generation of off-wire solutions include
on-board storage (supercap), charging time could
be longer than strictly necessary dwelling time
• the price for that is: more fixed and on-board equipment to maintain

 Maintenance of ground level equipment higher

than overhead wire system (up to k€75/year/km)

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 A focus on energy saving: what order of magnitude?

 A witnessed tram line, 12km long, Citadis 302 vehicle,

peak hours spreading over 25% of the revenue service,
6-minute headway at peak hour, remaining operation
duration off-peak hours needing only 50% of the energy
during peak hours:
• Yearly consumption is around: 6 GWh
 Should all regenerative braking capability not be
achieved, the lost energy is around 1GWh for one year.
(< k€130/year? Figure depending on the cost of electricity in a given
country)
 It is worth it aiming to reduce this figure, not because
of the price paid for energy but for environmental
considerations
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 Useful facts&figures

Some orders of magnitude:

• Trolleybus (12m long): 160 to 180 kW
• Trolleybus (18m long): 240 kW
• Citadis 302: 480 kW
• Citadis 402: 720 kW
Energy consumption (tramway):
• Flexity Outlook/Valencia
(32.37m x 2.40m, 200 pass.): 3.7kWh/km
• Urbos 3 Zaragoza
(33m x 2.65m, 200 pass.): 3.93 to 4.22kWh/km
• Citadis 402 (42m): 5.35kWh/km
In France, we consider for socio-eco assessment: RAGONE DIAGRAM
5kWh/km Isochrone lines show theoritical duration
for a complete discharge (the fastest as possible)

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 Off-wire: constraints and limitations

 Energy storage solutions based on on-board devices

(SuperCap, or High-efficiency battery, or combination
of both technologies) could improve the energy
efficiency, even above the level of conventional
regenerative braking through the overhead wire
 Up to 7% of the energy is lost in the contact wire

 Such technologies are getting improved: reduced size

and weight, enhanced storage capacity, higher electrical
efficiency because not related to acceptance capacity
of the 750Vdc supply line
 Manufacturers are targetting up to 30% saved energy

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 Useful hints

In a situation where an on-board energy storage solution

is to be selected, think of:
 Efficiency ratio (charge/discharge)

 Life expectancy and efficiency loss (along with years)

 Run length before recharging

 Recharging time:
“quick charging” ou “flash charging”)
=> oversizing of Rectifier Stations

Dubai

Page 25 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 Overview of on-board energy storage solutions

 Batteries: good kWh/kg, low instantaneous kW/kg,

relatively short life duration, relatively good value
for money
• Exception: Li-Titanate batteries that offer a high kW/kg,
but a very low kWh/kg
• The weight of the batteries is still an issue
 SuperCap: low kWh/kg, high kW/kg,
longer life duration, expensive
All SuperCap solutions will only apply for limited capacities
 Fly wheels: kWh/kg lower than batteries,
high kW/kg, extended life duration
Considered only as support devices

Page 26 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 Overview of on-board energy storage solutions

 One-day long capacity

• Requires high energy storage capacity,
thus high energy density is necessary
• Charging time is not an issue anymore

 Recharging at terminal stations

• Less stored energy
• Recharging time is an issue

 Flash charging at tram stops

• Low stored energy but a provision is required in case of…
• Recharging time must not be longer than dwell time

 Short runs, off-wire, no intermediate recharging:

batteries are appropriate
 Longer runs, off-wire: flash charging is mandatory

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 Off-wire: constraints and limitations

Off-wire solutions are now converging

to more on-board energy storage in order to:
 Cope with insufficient acceleration rate

 Reach a better energy saving regime

 Cope with sections of track not covered

by ground level energy transfer equipment
(permanently or temporarily)

Page 28 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 Off-wire: constraints and limitations

 Off-wire solutions originally based on on-board energy

storage are still looking for stabilised technologies for
batteries and supercap
 Distance to next charging point is still an issue,
particularly when auxiliary onboard equipment
is demanding (air cond’)
 Charging regime requires either oversized rectifier
stations or wayside energy buffers/accumulators
 Pledged life expectancy of batteries and moreover
supercap is not proven
 Distance to go with stored energy is still an issue
(case of one charging point out of order)
Page 29 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions
 Off-wire: constraints and limitations

 Off-wire is definitely an attractive innovative solution

in line with urban environment present expectations
 Increasing demand for capital/operational cost
efficiency and energy saving solutions are not totally
met today with off-wire solutions
 Interoperability between various off-wire systems
may be an issue for networks
 Current trend:
• interchangeable rolling stock
• energy saving considerations

Page 30 Light Rail Transit Systems and catenary free solutions

 Thank you for your attention

Is an innovative solution always an improvement?

« Naguère encore, au café du Commerce, on ne jurait que par le progrès.
Qu’il y ait ou n’y ait pas progrès, le progrès en tant qu’idéal a un sens, et un sens louable :
faire toujours mieux. Aujourd’hui l’idéal du progrès est remplacé par l’idéal de l’innovation :
il ne s’agit pas que ce soit mieux, il s’agit seulement que ce soit nouveau,
même si c’est pire qu’avant, et cela de toute évidence. Cet idéal est poursuivi dans les plus
petites choses comme dans les plus grandes ; il est absurde, mais le public n’a pas
conscience de cette absurdité, ou, s’il en a conscience, se tait et serre les fesses,
car l’innovation, en tant qu’Idée-Bête, est une divinité, et comme telle effrayante.
Adorez-la, ou gare ! »
Henry de Montherlant, Va jouer avec cette poussière, Carnets 1958-1964