Author(s)

G. Hribar, B. Dremelj & M. Sekavčnik

Abstract

The energy market and railway transport have been opening up. One of the first European railway operators to respond to the changed conditions was the Holding Slovenske železnice (HSŽ, Slovenian Railways), constructing a comprehensive data reading and energy management system. The presented system gives its users the ability to control the consumption on the site of supply and also on the site of usage. The system includes the supply grid and power substations, railway stations and other infrastructural objects, as well as energy usage readings from rail vehicles. Rail vehicles are equipped not only with energy meters but also with GPS and GPRS communication devices to transfer data into the energy management system in near-real time. This makes the equipment useful for billing and for lowering energy related costs. The data exchange with the traffic management system enables energy consumption forecasting and the optimisation of energy usage. This article presents existing features and proposes the development of a complex railway energy management system. As a case study of collected data usage initial analyses on drivers’ behaviour with the focus on coasting control and energy efficient driving strategy are presented. Keywords: railways, information system, energy management, metering, on-board device, coasting. 1 Introduction European electricity market has undergone structural changes in the past few years. Market liberalization, which now at least on paper becomes a fact for

Keywords

railways, information system, energy management, metering, on-board device, coasting.