Energy management of Auxiliary Battery Substation supporting high-speed train on 3 kV DC systems

The paper propose an energy management strategy for high efficiency battery-based substation (Auxiliary Battery Substation - ABS) able to power weak railways in areas without energy supply from the grid. The proposed control algorithm makes the ABS able to sustain part of the peak current absorbed during traction by high performance trains operating on traditional 3 kV DC rail networks. The proposed solution also, according to the state of charge and of the line voltage, allows the ABS system to recover the train's braking energy making it available to the next train departure. Several simulations are performed on a real Italian 3 kV railway system feeding a new generation high speed train, where the ABS supports existing supply system. The simulation results show that the ABS and its control allow the use of high performance trains even on 3 kV traditional lines not properly powerful.