RTS 2010 - Development Of An Optimised Energy Efficient Traction Power System Upgrade For London Underground’s Northern Line

Introducing a Transmission Based Train Control signallingsystem on London Underground’s Northern Line facilitatesan appreciable increase in train service frequencies, impactingthe existing 630V DC ‘four rail’ traction power system.Extensive operational and traction power simulationmodelling was undertaken to investigate train voltageregulation especially under electrical outage and perturbedoperating conditions. Traction power system upgrade optionswere developed comprising ‘low loss’ Composite ConductorRail (CCR), increasing system voltage to 750V, and parallelcabling. The upgrade options were evaluated in terms ofequipment quantities, costs, installation programmes, andenergy losses (including tunnel environmental impacts), and asingle option taken forward for implementation.