Feasibility Study and Reliability Assessment of an Electrified Commuter Train

This feasibility study aims to find the most suitable alternative traction drive in order to replace an existing diesel-electric train. To achieve the environmental European targets, set for the transport sector including the railway sector, the research on green alternative trains is part of the main solutions in Germany. From the GPS data available for the selected route, a model of the reference train was built in MATLAB. Several low-emission traction drives were evaluated and modelled, and their power unit components sized. These alternative solutions were compared from the point of view of the energy, power, and mass. Even if all the alternatives considered result to be feasible, two of them were particularly convenient for both the two sizing options considered: the fuel cell and hybrid option with an addition of a pantograph. In conclusion, the fuel cell option with the addition of a pantograph is auspicious to replace the diesel-electric train for the selected route. Additionally, a reliability assessment was conducted for the fuel cell alternative in comparison to the reference train, which results in an availability advantage of the fuel cell traction drive.