Regenerative braking with DC traction has always posed the problem for system designers of what to do with the power when there is no load available to absorb it. Chopper-controlled cars in commuter or metro service are normally fitted with blended regenerative/rheostatic braking for this reason, but braking energy is lost whenever regeneration is not possible. A solution tried in New York involves fly-wheels carried on the train to store braking energy, but this has the disadvantage of adding to the mass of the train, and thus to its energy consumption. Another possibility is to install inverters at each substation so that surplus power can be returned to the grid, but this has not proved to be an economic solution. A third approach has been tried by the Keihin Electric Express Railway, one of several private-sector commuter lines serving the Tokyo conurbation. Keihin is in fact the oldest of these companies, and it runs from Tokyo to Yokohama in competition with Japanese National Railways. Of 1435 mm gauge, and electrified throughout the 84 km network at 1.5 kV DC overhead, Keihin has through-running arrangements with the Tokyo Municipal Subway's Toei line, which in turn is linked with the Keisei Railway to the north of the city.


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    Title :

    Flywheel stores surplus energy from choppers


    Additional title:

    Schwungrad speichert ueberfluessige Energie von Zerhackern


    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1982


    Size :

    1 Seite


    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




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