Observations of train control performance on a camshaft-operated DC electrical multiple unit

Abstract

In order to reduce energy consumption on DC railways where regenerative braking is not available, train control strategy or ‘driver style’ is a practical alternative. In 2011, instrumentation to monitor energy consumption on the Merseyrail network was fitted to a British Rail Class 508 DC camshaft-operated electrical multiple unit. In this paper, seven services from Hunts Cross to Southport are highlighted to demonstrate a number of driver styles and their correlation with energy consumption. The differences in energy consumption were observed to be related to driver aggression in both the acceleration and deceleration phases.

Keywords

Driver style DC network energy monitoring performance analytics railway

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