IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2014 - 38

Effect on the Global Demand

5

10

Consumption (MWh/h)

Power (MW)

No Devices
Rev. Substations
ESSs
5

0

-5
280

4.8

Energy Consumption
No Devices
Rev. Substations
ESSs

4.6
4.4
4.2
4

290

300
310
Time (s)
(a)

320

330

Case
(b)

Figure 6. The effects of the inclusion of reversible substations and ESSs in the line on (a) global demand and (b) energy consumption.

solutions, a detailed study of all of the traffic densities
(headways) at which the railway line could be operated is
required. In addition, it is necessary to properly weigh the
results obtained for each traffic density. Weekly and annual seasonality issues in the line must be taken into
account. After this study, a realistic energy savings figure
can be obtained. This savings may be translated into economic terms and compared with investments and maintenance costs to decide whether it is worth including
these devices.
Moreover, assessing the savings potential of these
alternatives requires a suitable methodology for carrying
out a thorough analysis of each particular railway system
(López-López et al., 2014).

For Further reading
IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2014).
Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). [Online]. Available: http://www.
ipcc.ch/report/ar5/index.shtml
A. J. López-López, R. R. Pecharromán, A. Fernández-Cardador, and A. P. Cucala, "Assessment of energy-saving techniques in direct-current-electrified mass transit systems,"
Transp. Res., Part C, vol. 38, pp. 85-100, Jan. 2014.
R. Takagi, "Energy saving techniques for the power feeding
network of electric railways," IEEJ Trans. Electr. Electron. Eng.,
vol. 5, pp. 312-316, May 2010.
R. Barrero, J. Mierlo, and X. Tackoen, "Energy savings in public transport," IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag., vol. 3, pp. 26-36, Jan. 2008.
T. Konishi, H. Morimoto, T. Aihara, and M. Tsutakawa, "Fixed
energy storage technology applied for DC electrified railway,"
IEEJ Trans. Electr. Electron. Eng., vol. 5, pp. 270-277, May 2010.
R. Signorelli, D. C. Ku, J. G. Kassakian, and J. E. Schindall, "Electrochemical double-layer capacitors using carbon nanotube
electrode structures," Proc. IEEE, vol. 97, pp. 1837-1847, Jan. 2009.
A. J. López-López, L. Abrahamsson, R. R. Pecharromán, A.
Fernández-Cardador, A. P. Cucala, S. Östlund, and L. Söder, "A
variable no-load voltage scheme for improving energy efficiency

38

I E E E E l e c t r i f i c ati o n M agaz ine / september 2014

in DC- electrified mass transit systems," in Proc. ASME/IEEE 2014
Joint Rail Conf., JRC 2014- 3818, Colorado, pp. 1-7, Apr. 2014.

biographies
Ramón R. Pecharromán (ramon@dea.icai.upcomillas.es)
received the electrical engineering degree in 1992 and the
Ph.D. degree in 2000 from Universidad Pontificia Comillas,
Madrid, Spain. He is currently the head of the Electronics,
Control Engineering and Communications Department and
a research fellow at the Institute for Research in Technology
at Comillas University. His research interests include railway
power systems and control systems.
Álvaro López-López (Alvaro.Lopez@iit.upcomillas.es)
received his automation and electronics degree from Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, Spain, in 2006. He is a
research assistant at the Railways Research Group of the
Institute for Research in Technology, Comillas School of
Engineering, Madrid, Spain. His research interests include
railway power systems and control, systems.
Asunción P. Cucala (paloma.cucala@iit.upcomillas.es)
received the electrical engineering degree from Universidad
Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, Spain, in 1995 and the Ph.D. degree
in 2003. She is a research fellow at the Railways Research
Group of the Institute for Research in Technology, Madrid, and
a full professor at Comillas School of Engineering, Madrid,
Spain. Her research interests include eco-driving, train simulation, railways operation and control, and railway capacity.
Antonio Fernández-Cardador (antonio.fernandez@iit.
upcomillas.es) received the physics degree from Universidad
Complutense de Madrid in 1991 and the Ph.D. degree from
Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, in 1997. He is a
research fellow at the Railways Research Group of the Institute
for Research in Technology, Madrid, and a full professor at
Comillas School of Engineering, Madrid, Spain. His research
interests include train simulation, railways operation and control, eco-driving, and railway capacity.
http://www http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/index.shtml http://www.upcomillas.es
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