International Railway Journal - August 2007 - (Page 37)

Testing times on the Betuwe Route Photo: Quintus Vosman was necessary to ensure that the 50Hz components from the 25kV electrification did not interfere with the signals from ATB systems on the conventional track. The testing and certification of the Betuwe Route and its vehicles was carried out in three phases. The first, starting in 2005, consisted of testing the installed infrastructure. This was done using running trains. This period gradually shifted into a phase in which the integration of infrastructure and vehicle systems dominated. In the third phase, the vehicles destined for the Betuwe Route were subjected to extensive tests, so that they could also be certified. Lloyd’s Register Rail, as a testing organisation, is authorised by the Dutch Inspectorate of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (IVW) to carry out test runs on new infrastructure with vehicles that have not yet been certified. During the runs, various tests were conducted, in particular relating to the power supply and ETCS. These tests examined issues such as electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC), interference currents, and impedance tests and other tests in the 25kV system. How the track was laid was also measured, and checks were made to ensure all safety provisions of the 25kV system were functioning correctly. These tests focussed on checking whether the infrastructure satisfied all safety requirements, thereby releasing it for use. In an intermediate phase, the tests of infrastructure and vehicles converged. Lloyd’s Register Rail concentrated on the transitions of the overhead electrification and the safety systems at junctions. Special attention was paid to the interaction between the pantograph and catenary, the traction controls, and the interaction between safety systems. ATB immunity tests were also carried out in which three trains ran alongside each other on the part of the line where the Betuwe Route and the existing line run parallel. These tests were intended to determine whether the traction currents from the Betuwe Route could influence the ATB system on the conventional line. The results of the tests were crucial for releasing the electrical operations on the Betuwe Route, and resulted in adaptations to the current ATB systems to make them immune to 50Hz. National regulations were applied for certification of locomotives for the IRJ August 2007 37

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - August 2007

Contents This month News Market News Transit News News Analysis Voith Goes For Maxima Impact First Gauge-Changeable Loco Under Test Power Surge China Feels the Need For Speed A Firm Foundation For Chinese High-Speed Testing Times on the Betuwe Route Tough Tests For Mass Transit Software A Measure of Success Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - August 2007

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