Charging Contact-Accumulator Trains

Germany has successfully conducted tests of a charging point for contact-accumulator trains using a 50 Hz power supply network, as reported by the railway portal Railway Supply.

These tests took place at the Smart Rail Connectivity Campus (SRCC), a research center located in the Ore Mountains in the federal state of Saxony.

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The charging point was tested with the use of the contact-accumulator train Coradia Continental, supplied by Alstom to the Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen (VMS), the regional transport authority for Central Saxony.

In Germany, mainline railways are electrified using a 15 kV AC power supply with a frequency of 16.7 Hz. However, in most European countries, a 50 Hz AC power supply system is used.

Charging points providing 50 Hz AC power with a voltage ranging from 10 to 20 kV are simpler in design and more cost-effective.

Alstom, on behalf of VMS, adapted the contact-accumulator trains Coradia Continental to enable the charging of their traction batteries from a 50 Hz AC power source.

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A consortium consisting of DB Energie, DB RegioNetz Infrastruktur (both subsidiaries of German Railways), F&S Prozessautomation, Rail Power Systems, SRCC, VMS, and the Technical University of Dresden developed the charging point with a 15 kV AC power supply and a 50 Hz frequency.

The equipment for this charging point is housed in a standard container with a gross weight of 23 tons, which can be transported by road without restrictions.

On one of the tracks at the Annaberg-Buchholz station on the SRCC test section, a short section of the contact network was installed. During the tests, successful charging of the traction batteries of the Coradia Continental train was carried out.

(Photo: VMS)

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