Application of Energy Storage Technologies for Electric Railway Vehicles—Examples with Hybrid Electric Railway Vehicles

Regenerative braking of railway electric vehicles is effective when other powering vehicles, in other words electrical load, exist near the regenerating train on the same electrified line. So, at early mornings and late nights, or in the low-density district lines, regeneration cancellation phenomenon often occurs and the regenerative brake force cannot be operated in accordance with the commanded value. The new high-performance energy storage devices tackle the issues of energy storage and reuse technologies for on-ground and on-vehicle situations. A hybrid energy source is one effective solution. In this paper, the effective use of regenerating braking and the expected electricity storage technology in future for further energy conservation in the electric railway field will be outlined, with actual examples. Copyright © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.