When it comes to climate protection on the rails, electric trains with batteries could increasingly replace diesel vehicles in the future. However, according to experts, the construction of charging stations is expensive due to the special features of traction current. A development from Saxony promises a remedy.
Annaberg-Buchholz (dpa/sn) – With a transportable charging station, railway researchers from Saxony want to help accelerate the switch from diesel to battery trains. The innovative “wall box” for trains was developed at the SRCC research campus in Annaberg-Buchholz. According to the information, it consists of a container in which various technology such as transformers and symmetry converters are installed. With investment costs of less than one million euros, the station should not only be far cheaper than comparable systems. Their installation can also be done without a lengthy planning process. This means that in many places it is possible to switch to battery-powered trains more quickly.
Almost 40 percent of the railway lines in Germany do not have overhead lines, so that diesel locomotives and railcars drive there, as Arnd Stephan, Professor of Electric Railways at the Technical University of Dresden, explained. These are mostly branch lines. A rapid electrification is not to be expected, so that electric multiple units with batteries are considered a bridging technology to replace climate-damaging diesel trains. According to a study in Germany, 80 to 100 charging stations would have to be built for this, said Stephan. This is often only necessary at one end of the route, because the lines start or end at a station with an overhead line.
Several partners from science and industry are involved in the development of the new charging station. According to the information, it has been worked on for a year. In a next step, it will now be tested in practice at the train manufacturer Alstom in Salzgitter. “There the train and charging station get to know each other and the parameters are coordinated more precisely,” explained Stephan. She is scheduled to return to Annaberg-Buchholz before the end of this year, in order to then start with the trial operation on site.
The electricity network of the railway differs from the rest of the electricity network. It is operated with a frequency of 16.7 instead of 50 hertz and a voltage of 15,000 volts. A special feature of the new charging container is that the electricity is used at the local frequency and the vehicles are adapted for this. According to the experts, a symmetry converter ensures that the supplying local power grid is used evenly over three phases and that there is no overload. In addition, Stephan emphasized that the loading container can be set up comparatively quickly and dismantled again if necessary.
