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Stefan Fassbinder, Deutsches Kupferinstitut, Düsseldorf / European Copper Institute, Brussels<br /><b...
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Railway efficiency poster


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Railway efficiency poster

  1. 1. Stefan Fassbinder, Deutsches Kupferinstitut, Düsseldorf / European Copper Institute, Brussels<br /><br /><br /><br />Is railway transportation really energy efficient?And could it still be further improved?<br />Two times yes!While everybody speaks about the electric car, the real potential lies on the rail!<br />This diesel-hydraulic regional train consumes 1.7 litres of diesel fuel per km<br />Fuel cost: 0.9 cents per km and seat!<br />This electric long-distance train consumes17 kWh of electricity per km<br />Electricity cost: 0.2 cents per km and seat<br />This diesel-electric express train causes 1,800 € of fuel cost for one single trip from Berlin to Copenhagen, so some 15 to 50 seats (out of 195) have to be occupied alone for recovering the fuel cost!<br />A car uses 100% of its engine power to run at maximum speed<br />A train uses 33% of its locomotive power to run at maximum speed<br />A car accelerates faster than a train?<br />Well, initially yes, but somewhat later on...<br />A car rolls 3.5 km disengaged<br />A train has not even lost half of its speed after 32 km!<br />Force and power of a locomotive – availability and requirement for running at constant speed in a flat area<br />What to do about it? There are three action areas:<br />Add new battery electric vehicles for poorly frequented lines where electrification does not pay off!<br /><ul><li>A suitable battery adds 30% to the mass of a car but only 10% to the mass of a train
  2. 2. A suitable battery adds 50% to the price of a car but only 15% to the price of a train
  3. 3. Including the battery costs in the electricity price would triple the electricity price
  4. 4. Yet, the energy cost would still be lower compared to a diesel railcar!
  5. 5. Not a new idea, by the way:</li></ul>it did work even with old heavy lead batteries from 1955 to 1995!<br />Support further electrification where not yet in place!<br /><ul><li>Unfortunately a combustion engine that can suck up fumes and convert them back into fuel and fresh air during braking has not yet been invented
  6. 6. A diesel engine in a railway vehicle spends >90% of its operating time idling
  7. 7. The nature of a diesel engine is pretty well suited for driving a car
  8. 8. The nature of a diesel engine matches the physics of a railway vehicle quite poorly
  9. 9. Electric drives are optimal in either case, hence there is much more improvement potential on the rail than on the road!</li></ul>Improve electrified transportation where already in place!<br />A regional train serving the 160 km from Aachen to Dortmund with 22 stops reaches a maximum speed of 140 km/h<br /><ul><li>All correlated friction losses sum up to an energy requirement of 800 kWh
  10. 10. All acceleration related energy demand piles up to 1600 kWh</li></ul>So 50% of energy could be fed back, but only 10% is actually recovered! Hence:<br /><ul><li>Replace old locomotives: 10% -> 20%
  11. 11. Improve brake management 20% -> 50%
  12. 12. Replace locomotive hauled trains with railcars (dispersed drives) -> >50%</li></ul><br />