Catenary free operation of light rail vehicles — Topology and operational concept

Difficult building conditions but also the impairment of the cityscape through overhead lines can lead to high cost and lack of acceptance from citizens and town planners. In these cases the use of a tram with an energy storage (ES) which enables for catenary free operation (CFO) could be the more cost-effective solution and could create the necessary acceptance. This article presents the operational concept of catenary free operation of a tram and the integration of a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) energy storage into the propulsion system of a BOMBARDIER* FLEXITY* 2 tram. The first application of this propulsion system was carried out for the newly built tram line of the Chinese metropolis of Nanjing. The trams are successfully in passenger operation since the youth Olympic Games in August 2014, running without catenaries on 90% of the line.