Rapid transit
During testing in Augsburg, Primove operation has been validated in a variety of environmental conditions, including sand and snow.
in 9m-long sections between the running rails. The primary winding is energised only when the vehicle passes overhead. Like the primary winding, the inverters and power supply network can be covered with any surface. Depending on the characteristics of the route, 10-25% of a typical light rail line would be equipped with the wayside equipment. The system has charging power of
200kW, which feeds two 48kWh batteries with a transfer efficiency of up to 95%. Each battery weighs around a tonne - roughly the equivalent of 13 standing passengers - can load fully in 20 seconds, and has a 10-year service life expectancy under normal operating conditions.
The technology allows vehicles to
charge dynamically or statically, which means Primove-equipped vehicles continue to draw current while standing at stations but use less power than conventional trams when in motion. This inevitably has an impact on the power supply architecture, and Bombardier says a line operating exclusively with Primove requires fewer substations than a line with standard catenary.
“The key to Primove is energy management,” says Bombardier’s Primove product director Mr Harry Seiffert. “It’s all about achieving a trade- off between stress on the battery and the power supply infrastructure. The
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fact that there is no return current to the rail is also a key advantage.” Bombardier engineers first conceived Primove in 2003, and following a period of further development including input from the University of Braunschweig, it set up a 1km test track at its Bautzen plant in eastern Germany in 2009. Here a 30m-long Flexity LRV was tested at up to 40km/h on a 6% gradient. The next step was to test the operating performance and electromagnetic compatibility of the system in an urban environment. In June 2010 Bombardier began installation of Primove on the 800m-long branch of Augsburg Line 3 to the city’s exhibition centre, a project implemented in cooperation with the Augsburg Transport Authority (SAV) with grant funding from the German Federal Ministry of Transport Building and Urban Development (BMVBS). Test operation began in September 2010, using a bidirectional Flexity low-floor LRV, and the system was approved for limited passenger use a year later. During this evaluation phase, Bombardier engineers worked with external assessors such as Tüv Süd to ensure Primove achieved all applicable electromagnetic compatibility standards, including the guidelines of the International Commission on Non- Ionising Radiation Protection. Bombardier says a new LRV equipped with Primove costs around 10% more than a standard vehicle,
although it aims to achieve equivalent operating performance and cost to catenary-based systems on a life-cycle basis, and even exceed the capabilities of overhead electrification in areas such as energy consumption. “It’s clear trams won’t run on Primove unless we are competitive on cost, so we need to be in the same range as conventional vehicles because cost is important to the market,” explains Bombardier Transportation CEO Mr André Navarri. “You also have to factor in the price of the overall system, and the charging strategy for the line. The price of Primove components will decrease over time, and our simulations have demonstrated the system is cost- effective on a whole-life basis.” In addition to the elimination of unsightly catenary masts, Primove can also reduce the land area required for light rail projects. A double-track line with Primove requires a 7.05m-wide corridor, compared with the 7.6m footprint of a line equipped with overhead catenary. Bombardier is pitching Primove as a system that completely obviates the need for catenary, while maintaining or improving on the performance of overhead electrification. The system is totally weather independent, and the Primove demonstrator has been successfully put through its paces in heavy snow and over sand-covered track with no loss of performance. But what really sets Primove apart
IRJ August 2012
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