electrification in railways

ELECTRIFICATION IN RAILWAYS DIGAJERLA SURESH 14CM43F

Diesel Traction - 1912

The diesel engine was invented in the year 1893, by a young German Engineer, called Rudolf Diesel. But it was only nineteen years later, that the first Diesel locomotive came into existence.

Since then, diesel traction has grown from strength to strength. Over 89,000 Diesel locomotives have been built in the world so far, the General Motors, USA alone contributing to as many as 56,000 Locomotives.

Electric Traction - 1881

After many decades of satisfactory performance, the steam engines were to give way to more modern locomotives. The year 1881 saw the birth of the first electric Railway run by a German Engineer Werner Van Siemens using both the rails to carry the current. Finding this a little too dangerous, Siemens soon adopted the overhead electric wires. Electric locomotives today ran on Rail roads in many countries.

PURPOSE OF RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION

The contact lines permit almost unlimited power at the disposal of the electrically driven vehicle.

Permits heavier trains to achieve higher speeds.

Electric Multiple Units provide fast commuter services with quick reversal at with main line trains

Electric Multiple Units offer least interference to the latter due to the EMU’s high acceleration rates.

Economy in operation and maintenance

Saving in consumption of scarce diesel oil and increased through put of traffic.

The capital cost for provision of fixed installation required for electric traction is found adequately remunerative for routes having high levels of traffic.

Period Route Kms. Electrified

Prior to Independence (1925-1947) 388

I Five Year Plan (1951-56) 141

II Five Year Plan (1956-61) 216

III Five Year Plan (1961-66) 1678

Annual Plan (1966-69 814

IV Five Year Plan (1969-74) 953

V Five Year Plan (1974-78) 533

Inter Plan (1978-80) 195

VI Five Year Plan (1980-85) 1522

VII Five Year Plan (1985-90) 2812

Annual Plan (1990-92) 1557

VIII Five Year Plan (1992-97) 2708

IX Five Year Plan (1997-2002) 2484

X Five Year Plan (2002-07) 1810

XI Five Year Plan First Year (2007-08) * 502

XI Five Year Plan Second Year (2008-09) 797

XI Five Year Plan Third Year (2009-10) 1117

Total as on 31.03.2010 20059

DETAILS OF ELECTRIFICATION INDIAN RAILWAYS TOTAL TRACK = 63327 RKM

ELECTRIFIED upto 31.3.2009 = 18942 RKM

% ELECTRIFIED = 29.85%

COST OF ELECTRIFICATION

The approximate average cost of electrification is as under :

PER RKM DOUBLE LINE

For 25 KV AC TRACTION 1 crore 75 lakh

For 2X25 KV AC TRACTION 94 lakh

ONGOING PROJECT Notification of Award No & Date

IFB No, RVNL/CPM/MAS/VLDE-MPA-DG/OT-4 dated 24/01/2012

Description of Item/Work

Execution of Doubling of track between Villupuram and Dindigul, for the contract Package-1-“Construction of Roadbed, bridges, supply of ballast, Installation of track (excluding supply of rails & PSC sleepers), Electrical (Railway Electrification and General Electrification), outdoor signalling and telecommunication works for Doubling of track between Valadi and Manaparai in Tiruchchirappalli and Madurai Divisions of Southern Railway, TamilNadu, India.”

-58km stretch-

Contract No & Date

LOANo.RVNL/CPMMAS/VLDE-MPA-DG/OT-4/Package 1 dated 22.10.2012

Contractor's Name

M/s L&T Construction Infrastructure

Mount Poonamallee Road

PB No. 979

Chennai - 600 089

Total Tender Cost (for Engg./Elect./S&T)

Rs.157,53,91,274

Double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.

Double-track railways, especially older ones, may use each track exclusively in one direction. This arrangement simplifies the signalling systems, especially where the signalling is mechanical.

Where the signals and points or rail switches are power-operated, it can be worthwhile to signal each line in both directions, so that the double line becomes a pair of single lines. This allows trains to use one track where the other track is out of service due to track maintenance work, or a train failure, or for a fast train to overtake a slow train.

PRINCIPAL PARTS OF CONSTRUCTION


Over Head equipment (OHE)

A system of conductors / equipments carrying traction power from traction sub station to electric locomotive.

As a standard practice, an independent mast is used to support the OHE for each track to obtain mechanical independence.

Independent Mast

Steel masts are of Four types i.e., BFB (Broad Flanged Beam), RSJ (Rolled Steel Joist) and fabricated rectangular sectional mast of K and B type.

Portals are also used to serve multiple track section where space between two tracks to locate an independent mast is not adequate.


concrete foundation

Traction Mast / Portals are embedded in the concrete foundation. There are different type of foundations which are used according to soil pressure and location. The five standard types of foundations mostly used are :

(a) Side Bearing (b) Side gravity (c) New Pure gravity (d)Wet Black cotton soil (e) Dry Black Cotton soil

Traction Sub Station (TSS)

Every TSS has 2 nos. traction transformer out of which one is working at a time and the second transformer is stand by. The capacity of each traction transformer is sufficient to feed its own feed zone and half of the adjoining feed zone.

Signalling and Telecommunication (S&T)

Over Head equipment (OHE)

Neutral Section (NS)

RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION WORKS

Main works

1 Provision of most economic reliable electric contact system to continuously supply power to the moving electric rolling stock.

2. Power Supply Arrangements.

3. Provision of switches to regulate the flow of power along with the electric protective gear.

4. Monitoring and remote control of power supply.

5. Immunization of signalling and the trackside telecommunication circuits against electromagnetic and electrostatic induction effects of 25 KV, 50 HZ, single phase traction power supply.

6. Modernization of signalling and telecommunication.

7. Provision of maintenance and operation facilities for electric traction.

RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION WORKS

Discipline wise Division of Works

a) Electrical

b) Signal and Telecommunications

c) Civil Engineering

Coordination of Works

Railway Electrification, being a multi-disciplinary project work, needs close coordination amongst electrical, signalling & telecommunications and civil engineering disciplines. It further needs coordination with outside agencies such as Power Supply Authorities, the Department of Telecommunications, the Revenue officials as well as with the Open Line organization or whose section the work is to be taken up. Accordingly the organization for Railway electrification coordinates works of all the disciplines and the agencies from inception to completion including support services to the open line in early stages of electric traction over the section.

19

SIGNALLING-SPACE INTERVAL METHOD

21

TRACK CIRCUITED OVERLAP

SIGNALLING AT POINTS

SAFETY IN ELETRIFICATION OF RAILWAYS

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ON ELECTRIFIED SECTIONS

Crane Working

Track-Circuited Rails

Care in Handling Pipes

Street Measuring Tapes not to be used

Traction Structure Foundation

The top of foundation block of track structures shall be kept clear of all materials and kept dry.

While excavating, the foundations not be exposed and there should be no risk of sinking of the foundations.

COST ESTIMATION At the planning level strategic decisions are developed that determine the likely benefits and costs of a project, before further resources are utilized for more in-depth investigation. At the project level actual location specific studies are conducted to determine the overall costs of the project.

CPM estimation methodology is used at the planning level

CPM estimation methodology components

1. The right of way the track is built upon (ROW)

2. The design and construction of the railway (Design & Build)

3. Raw materials and finished goods required (Materials)

4. Train control and communications systems (C&S)

5. Catenary/grid components for electrified service (if applicable) (Electric Infrastructure)

Components influenced by factors

Construction (adding to existing, building new, or upgrading existing railways)

Service (passenger, freight, or mixed use)

Speed (maximum intended speed: 79, 110, 125, 150, or 220mph)

Motive power (electric or non-electric)

Trackage (single, double, or other)

Terrain (plains, hills, or mountains)

Land Use (urban, suburban, or rural)

CPM components and corresponding influencing factors

CPM ADJUSTMENT FACTORS The five CPM component cost categories have been designated as “Design & Build”, “ROW”, “Materials”, “C&S”, and “Electric Infrastructure”. Each cost is based on a finished project, proposed project, or study cost. Since most of the cost sources pertained to a particular project.

To achieve this, the US Army Corps of Engineers “Civil Works Construction Cost Index System (CWCCIS)” was applied. The index is used to “…escalate or inflate various project cost features to current or future price levels…” along with adjusting for the influence of a project on construction costs.

CPM ADJUSTMENT FACTORSBase Cost without influence = (2 – State Adjustment Factor) x (State Influenced Cost)

CPM ADJUSTMENT FACTORS 1) The costs associated with a double-track construction would be 1.5 times the costs of a single-track project in the same location. This assumption was made since the existing grade, geometry, and structures offer existing work and economies of scale to be built alongside of.

2)CPM increases by 1.1 from rural to suburban and 1.2 from rural to urban areas. This assumption represents the increased presence of intersections and structures that affect optimal railway placement. While the number of intersections will increase with more densely populated areas, it was determined that a less obtrusive railway would accordingly be built to avoid unnecessary interactions with surface traffic or built-up areas. For central business districts, no multiplier has been included due to the small proportion that this land use represents of the whole. In addition, some projects may utilize current conventional rail infrastructure for built-up areas, therefore cost estimation was deemed too variable to determine.

CPM ADJUSTMENT FACTORS 3)CPM increases by 1.5 from plains to hills and 1.5 from hills to mountains. This assumption was made as the slope, length of slope, maximum curvature, and additional structures encountered result in greater engineering work to Design & Build the railway. This information is based on the effect of terrain on passenger car equivalents for truck traffic with regards to highway capacity.

4) The cost to upgrade a railway is one-third of the corresponding cost to build. This assumption was made as all or a portion of the grade, structures, and necessary geometry is already in place, requiring adaptation or partial building, rather than complete rebuilding.

SCENARIO CPM Methodology Scenario CPM = (Design & Build base cost x TE x LU x SP x TR x UP x AD)+ (ROW base cost x TE x LU x SP x TR)

+ (Materials base cost x TR)

+ (C&S base cost x TR)

+ (Electric Infrastructure base cost x TR)

Where:

TE = Terrain multiplier

LU = Land Use multiplier

SP = Speed multiplier

TR = Track multiplier

UP = Upgrade multiplier

AD = Additional multiplier

References Indian Railway Year Book 2002-2003

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2000

Transportation Research Board, 2000

White, Thomas. 2000. Developing The Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor Incremental Plan. [Online]

2000. [Cited: September 29, 2011.]

http://www.halcyon.com/tawhite/Trans/PNWRC%20INCREMENTAL%20PLAN.htm.

Whitford, R. K. 1981. Railroad Electrification. An Alternative for Petroleum Savings. Transportation

Research Record. 1981, 802.

a planning methodology for railway construction

cost estimation in north america

Jeffrey Tyler Von Brown

electrification in railways

Documents