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Tag Archives: railway electrification
Mobile traction substations for powering trains and trams
The power for an electric railway has to come from somewhere – and that place is a traction substation, a facility that convert hogh voltage electricity from the power grid to the voltage and frequency that trains or trams use. […]
Battery-electric locomotives of the Moscow Metro
On the Moscow Metro can be found a curious piece of rolling stock – Контактно-аккумуляторный электровоз – battery-electric locomotives converted from retired metro carriages to haul maintenance trains through underground tunnels. Photo by Anakin, via Wikimedia Commons The seats have […]
Posted in Trains
Tagged electric multiple units, Moscow, Moscow Metro, rail operations, railway electrification, Russia
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‘Do Re Mi’ music as the train powers out of the station
It’s normal for electric locomotives to make some kind of ‘buzzing’ noise as their accelerate, due to the way that power is applied to their traction motors. But the Siemens EuroSprinter family of electric locomotives make an unexpected sound – […]
Posted in Trains
Tagged Austria, Deutsche Bahn, Germany, locomotives, ÖBB, railway electrification, railways
2 Comments
Inspecting the overhead wires on the Ukrainian Railways
As I travelled across Ukraine by train I noticed a few complicated looking contraptions parked in sidings along the way. With a small platform at the end of a scissor lift, these railcars are used to inspect and repair the overhead wires that power electric trains.
Posted in Trains
Tagged maintenance, rail operations, railway electrification, Ukraine, Ukrainian Railways
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Electric trains, trams and trolleybuses on movable bridges
The Russian city of Saint Petersburg is a located across a collection of islands, divided by the Neva River, and reconnected by a series of lift bridges that allow boats to head upriver. So how do electric trains, trams and trolleybuses make their way across?
Posted in Trains, Trams
Tagged Germany, Netherlands, rail operations, railway electrification, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Turkey
2 Comments
Steam power and trains in modern Russia
Russia has a history of railway electrification dating back to the 1930s, leading to the retirement of their last steam locomotives by the 1970s. However the distinctive smell of burning coal has not disappeared from the Russian Railways – just take a walk down the platform at any railway station.
Posted in Trains
Tagged coal, food and drink, instant noodles, railway electrification, Russia, Russian Railways, tea, winter
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Moscow Metro train depots
Every railway needs somewhere to store and repair their trains – and the Moscow Metro is no different. On my visit I travelled past one of these facilities – the электродепо (electric train depot) at Фили (Fili) on the Filyovskaya Line.
Posted in Trains
Tagged metros, Moscow Metro, pantographs, rail operations, railway electrification, railways, Russia
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When tram and trolleybus wires cross
Trams and trolleybuses have one thing in common – they pull their power supply from wires above the vehicles. This presents difficulties when the two modes of transport cross paths.
Posted in Trams
Tagged Budapest, Hungary, Moscow, pantographs, railway electrification, Russia, trolleybuses
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Keeping ice off the overhead wires
In a land of freezing cold winters, it isn’t just the tracks that get covered with snow – ice builds up on the overhead lines used to power electric trains, acting as an electrical insulator to prevent the pantograph contacting the wire, which interrupts the flow of current and creates a shower of sparks. So what issues does that cause to rail operations?
Posted in Trains
Tagged pantographs, railway electrification, railways in the snow, Russia, Russian Railways, snow, winter
1 Comment
Bucharest Metro mixing third rail and overhead power
The metro system in the Romanian city of Bucharest is like most European urban rail networks, and uses a third rail to power their electric multiple unit trains. However on my journey around the network I discovered something odd – a miniature pantograph on the roof of some trains – so why would a railway mix two different ways of current collection?
Posted in Trains
Tagged Bucharest, metros, pantographs, railway electrification, Romania, third rail
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