Innovations in the Automation of the Electric Power Railway Substations

This paper highlights the main problems connected to the technological renovation of infrastructures applied for electrical supply of the contact line. This paper has been developed in cooperation with RFI (the Italian Railway Network), addressing with particular attention the railway electrical substations (ESS). The purpose of this study consists of the identification of some innovative technical solutions for the realization of3kV(sub dc)ESS. In fact, to satisfy the increase of market demand for railway transport during the next 10 years, the whole Italian electrical railway network has to be radically improved. The paper briefly analyze the actual status of the RFI ESS structures, and point out the limitations of the traditional technologies. From this study, it is evident that there is a need to critically analyze two crucial aspects of the modernization: some strategies of interventions are proposed, with the purpose of achieving a convenient technical-economic management for the infrastructure.