The present invention relates to a railway transport system comprising:
- at least one set including railway vehicles, and
- a plurality of stations where the set is suitable for 5 stopping successively.
The railway transport system is in particular a broad-gauge subway system (UIC
Standard B). The set is for example made up of four cars and able to take on more than
800 passengers for a total weight exceeding 200 tons, and to travel at 70 km/h.
The energy and power needs of a broad-gauge subway are significantly higher
10 than those of a tram or a light train, typically taking on about 200 passengers and traveling
at 60 km/h.
For such a railway system, the electricity supply is provided by catenaries or a third
rail, the first two rails making up the railroad track used by the set.
The placement of catenaries and/or a third rail is costly during construction. These
15 elements next require full track maintenance, incurring operating costs.
Furthermore, these electrification elements of the railway tracks create a risk of
electrocution, both in general and specifically during upkeep. This risk is addressed by
means known in themselves or warning means, but it is not possible to completely
eliminate it, in particular in case of carelessness by an individual or failure to follow safety
20 instructions.
One aim of the invention is therefore to resolve all or some of the above
drawbacks, in particular by proposing a railway transport system that is less expensive to
build and is easy to implement.
To that end, the invention relates to a railway transport system, comprising:
25 - at least one set including railway vehicles, each railway vehicle comprising a
storage device for storing electrical power, and
- a plurality of stations at which the set is adapted to stop successively,
at least one of the railway vehicles being a tractive unit comprising an on-board
tractive device adapted to move the railway vehicle between any two successive stations
30 in said plurality, the tractive device consuming electrical tractive power as it moves, the
storage device of the railway vehicle being adapted so that it alone supplies the electrical
tractive power to the tractive device as it moves, and
each station comprising a recharging device for recharging the storage devices,
the recharging device comprising distribution units which are adapted to be in electrical
35 contact with the storage devices when the set is stopped in the station and to supply
electrical power to the storage devices.
2
2
According to specific embodiments, the railway transport system includes one or
more of the following features, considered alone or according to any technically possible
combination(s):
- each storage device comprises at least one electricity storage reservoir, and a
supervision and protection 5 unit adapted to:
. provide parameters representative of a state of the reservoir, and
. electrically isolate the reservoir in case of electrical overload or failure of the
reservoir;
- the supervision and protection unit includes an electronic control module for the
10 electrical energy stored in the storage device, the electronic module being able to
communicate, preferably by radio waves, with the distribution unit to control the supply of
electrical energy to the storage device;
- the set comprises an on-board energy management device, and an on-board
computer network adapted to connect the energy management device to each of the
15 storage devices, the energy management device being able to receive, for each storage
device, information representative of the electrical energy stored in each storage device;
- the set comprises an automatic piloting system able to pilot the set, the on-board
energy management device being connected by the computer network to the automatic
piloting system and being adapted to:
20 . calculate an energy need of the set to reach the second of the two successive
stations from parameters supplied by the automatic piloting system, and
. sent the automatic piloting system an order to change the piloting of the set;
- the recharging device comprises a transformer, a rectifier unit, and a single buffer
electricity reservoir shunt-mounted from each of the distribution units, the electricity
25 reservoir having an electricity storage capacity greater than or equal to the sum of the
storage capacities of the storage devices of the set, and at most equal to twice the sum of
the storage capacities of the storage devices of the set;
- each of the distribution units comprises at least one buffer electricity reservoir,
and preferably a single electricity reservoir; and
30 - the railway transport system as defined above, in which:
. each distribution unit comprises a terminal adapted to respectively be electrically
connected to one of the storage devices, the terminal being translatable along a vertical
direction with respect to the railway vehicle when stopped, and rotatable relative to the
railway vehicle when stopped around an axis substantially parallel to a longitudinal
35 direction of the railway vehicle, or
3
3
. each storage device comprises a connecting member adapted to be electrically
connected to one of the distribution units, respectively, the connection unit being
translatable relative to the railway vehicle when stopped in the vertical direction, and
rotatable relative to the railway vehicle when stopped around an axis substantially parallel
to the longitudinal 5 direction.
The invention also relates to a railway transport method comprising the following
steps:
- providing at least one set including railway vehicles comprising a storage device
for storing electrical power,
10 - providing a plurality of stations at which the set is adapted to stop successively,
- each station including a recharging device for recharging the storage devices,
each recharging device having energy distribution units,
- placing, at each station, distribution units respectively in electrical contact with
the storage devices when the set is stopped in the station,
15 - providing, at each station, electrical energy to the storage devices, respectively,
via the distribution units when the set is stopped in the station,
- movement of at least one of the railway vehicles between any two successive
stations in said plurality using an on-board tractive device of said railway vehicle, the
railway vehicle being a tractive unit,
20 - consumption, by the tractive device, of electrical tractive power as it moves, and
- providing, via the storage device alone, electrical tractive power to the tractive
device.
The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description,
provided solely as an example, and done in reference to the appended drawings, in
25 which:
- figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a railway transport system according to the
invention,
- figure 2 is a schematic view of the electricity storage reservoir and the
supervision and protection unit belonging to one of the storage devices shown in figure 1,
30 - figure 3 is a schematic view of a connection mechanism between one of the
railway vehicles and one of the recharging devices shown in figure 1, and
- figure 4 is a schematic view of a recharging device showing an alternative of the
recharging device illustrated in figure 1.
A railway transport system according to the invention is described in reference to
35 figure 1.
4
4
The railway transport system comprises a set 5 including railway vehicles 7A, 7B,
7C, 7D, or “cars”, and a plurality of stations 10, only one of which is shown in figure 1.
The set 5 is adapted to stop successively in the stations 10, for example to allow
travelers (not shown) to board or exit the railway vehicles 7A to 7D.
The set 5 is for example a broad-gauge automatic subway (UIC 5 Standard B). The
set 5 is for example made up of four cars and adapted to take on more than 800
passengers for a total weight exceeding 200 tons, and to travel at 70 km/h.
In the illustrated example, the set 5 includes four railway vehicles 7A to 7D hitched
to one another successively.
10 According to specific embodiments, the set 5 comprises another number of railway
vehicles, for example eight. The sets are in fact configurable by aggregating cars and
configured in terms of capacity (passengers and energy) and power, based on the needs
of the railway transport system.
The set 5 further comprises an on-board energy management device 12, an on15
board piloting device 14 able to pilot the set, and a computer network 16 interconnecting
the energy management device and the automatic piloting system. The set 5 also
comprises auxiliary devices 18 consuming electrical energy that are not intended for
tractive use and that may be one or several of the following elements: apparatuses for
producing compressed air, apparatuses for producing air-conditioned air, door opening
20 mechanisms, and backup battery chargers.
The elements 12, 14, 16, 18 are not precisely situated in figure 1. This means that
these elements could be situated in other locations of the set 5.
The set 5 has a redundant architecture. The set 5 is formed by aggregating selfpowered
railway vehicles between two stations.
25 Each railway vehicle 7A to 7D comprises a storage device 20 for storing electrical
power.
In the illustrated example, the first two railway vehicles 7A, 7B on the left in figure 1
and the railway vehicle 7D furthest to the right in figure 1 are advantageously tractive
units. The second railway vehicle 7C from the right in figure 1 is advantageously a towed
30 vehicle.
According to alternatives that are not shown, the set 5 comprises a different
number of tractive units and “towed" vehicles, and/or the order of the railway vehicles 7A
to 7D in the set is different.
The tractive railway vehicles 7A, 7B, 7D include an on-board tractive device 22
35 adapted to move the railway vehicle between any two successive stations 10. Each
tractive railway vehicle 7A, 7B, 7D is advantageously provided with no energy conversion
5
5
member intended for the tractive device. The tractive railway vehicles 7A, 7B, 7D are
advantageously similar to one another.
The towed railway vehicle 7C has no on-board tractive system. The towed railway
vehicle 7C includes a static converter 24 electrical connected to its storage device 20 and
advantageously to all of the auxiliary devices of the set. The towed railway 5 vehicles, in the
alternatives where there are several, are advantageously similar to one another.
The tractive device 22 comprises a traction inverter 26 electrically connected to the
storage device 20, and for example two electric tractive motors 28 electrically connected
to the traction inverter.
10 The tractive device 22 is advantageously adapted to transmit a braking current to
the storage device 20 in order to recover the electrical energy generated by the tractive
device 22 during braking of the railway vehicle.
The storage devices 20 of the tractive railway vehicles 7A, 7B, 7D are
advantageously similar to one another; as a result, only one of them will be described
15 below.
The storage device 20 comprises an electricity storage reservoir 30 (figures 1 and
2), a supervision and protection unit 32, and a connecting member 34 (figures 1 and 3)
electrically connected to the reservoir 30 and adapted to establish an electrical connection
with the recharging device 40 of the station 10 that will be described later.
20 Each storage device 20 of the vehicles 7A, 7B and 7D is adapted so that it alone
supplies the corresponding tractive device 22 with electricity during the complete
movement from one of the stations 10 to another of the stations 10 equipped with the
recharging device 40. Indeed, it is possible for some of the stations on a line not to be
equipped with such a recharging device.
25 The storage device 20 of the towed railway vehicles 7C is adapted so that it alone
supplies all of the auxiliary devices 18 with electricity during the complete movement from
one of the stations 10 to another.
The storage device 20 of the towed railway vehicle 7C has a storage capacity of
the same order as that of the tractive railway vehicles. This capacity is in particular
30 adapted based on the distances between the stations and the air-conditioning needs of
the set 5.
The storage capacity of the reservoir 30 in each railway vehicle 7A to 7D depends
on the performance and operating needs. This capacity is higher than the strict energy
need required for the movement of the set 5 between two equipped stations 10, so as to
35 be able to cope with certain situations, such as a forced stop on the line (outside a
station).
6
6
The storage capacity is typically comprised between 10 and 20 kWh, while the
power delivered by the reservoir exceeds a MW.
As shown in figure 2, the reservoir 30 includes branches 42 mounted in parallel
relative to one another and advantageously similar to one another. There are for example
eight branches 42 in each reservoir 30 of the tractive railway vehicles 5 7A, 7B; 7D. Only
two branches 42 are shown in figure 2 for simplicity.
The branches 42 includes modules 44 mounted in series.
The modules 44 include a plurality of supercapacitor cells 46. Each module 44
locally incorporates a device for monitoring the superconductor cells 46, which individually
10 measures the charge and health of each cell, and balances the charge between cells,
responsible for equalizing the charge level of the multiple cells making up the module 44.
A supercapacitor is a specific technical capacitor having an energy density
adapted to provide an intermediate power between the batteries and the traditional
electrolytic capacitors. These components therefore make it possible to store an
15 intermediate quantity of energy between these two storage modes, and to retrieve it more
quickly, more effectively and with greater efficiency than a battery.
The supervision and protection unit 32 is suitable for electrically isolating the
reservoir 30 in case of electrical overload or failure, and providing information on
parameters representative of a state of the reservoir, for example representative of a
20 charge level, an instantaneous current level, losses, aging of the components of the
reservoir.
The supervision and protection unit 32 for example comprises, for each branch 42,
one or several of the following elements:
- a circuit breaker 50 protecting the supercapacitors of the branch,
25 - a pre-charge contactor 52 of the branch,
- a pre-charge resistor 54 of the branch,
- a voltage sensor 56 of the branch,
- a card 58 signaling the presence of superconductor voltage,
- a selecting member 60 allowing manual isolation of the reservoir 30 during the upkeep
30 procedure of the storage device 20, and
- an electronic energy control module 62 able to monitor and manage supercapacitor
modules 44, and to pilot electromechanical members of the supervision and protection
unit 32.
The supervision and protection unit 32 is adapted so that the mean current
35 exchanged with the traction inverter 26 in each phase (traction, braking, recharging) is
shared between all of the branches 42 of the reservoir 30. This sharing reduces the
7
7
current circulating in the cells so as to limit the size of the modules 44 and the complexity
of a cooling device (not shown) of the reservoir.
The electronic module 62 is adapted to report the state of the reservoir 30 to the
energy management device 12 of the set 5.
The energy management device 12 is said to be "smart". It is 5 configured so that
the set 5 has the electrical energy necessary to reach the following station 10.
To that end, the energy management device 12 is configured to determine,
preferably in real time, the acceleration profile and appropriate speed for the set 5 from
one or several of the following piece of information:
10 - a charge level of each reservoir 30 sent by the corresponding electronic energy
control module 62, and
- the position and speed, in real time, of the set 5 provided by the automatic
piloting system 14.
The energy management device 12 is adapted to know the typology of the line
15 and the mission of the set 5.
The computer network 16 connects the energy management device 12 in
particular to the supervision and protection unit 32 of each storage device 20.
Due to its connection with the supervision and protection unit 32, the on-board
energy management device 12 is informed at each moment of the available energy
20 reserves for the travel of the set 5 and the state of the storage devices 20. The energy
management device 12 is adapted to monitor the evolution of the charge level and the
electrical performance of each storage device 20.
Due to its connection with the automatic piloting system 14, the energy
management device 12 is informed of the current position, speed and mission of the set 5.
25 The mission for example comprises one or several of the following pieces of
information: next station served, availability of the corresponding itinerary, anticipated
speed profile for the set 5, passenger load of the set.
The energy management device 12 is adapted to estimate the energy needs in
real time and calculate the evolution of the reserves. In critical cases, i.e., if a risk of
30 running out of electrical energy is detected (for example, following a stop on the line or a
failure of the recharging device of the next station), the energy management device 12 is
configured to ask the automatic piloting system 14 to modify the operation of the set 5 to
ensure that the set reaches and stops at the next station 10.
The diagnostic of the health of the storage devices 20 is based on the analysis of
35 physical parameters of the components of the reservoirs of the storage devices.
8
8
The automatic piloting system 14 is adapted to allow the precise stop of the set 5
across from the recharging device 40 of the station 10 in question.
Each station 10 comprises a recharging device 40 similar to the recharging device
shown in figure 1.
Optionally, the stations 10 are part of a network (not shown) 5 of stations, one or
several of which do not include a recharging device similar to the recharging device
shown in figure 1. In other words, optionally, some stations of the network are equipped
with a recharging device, like the stations 10, and other stations are not.
The recharging device 40 (figure 1) comprises a connection 70 to an electrical
10 energy source 72, a transformer 74, a rectifier unit 76, a single buffer energy reservoir 78,
and distribution units 80 adapted to respectively be in electrical contact with the storage
devices 20 when the set 5 is stopped in said station 10.
The electrical energy source 72 is advantageously the medium-voltage public
electric grid of a city. "Medium voltage" for example refers to an alternating voltage
15 comprised between 1 and 50 kV.
The rectifier unit 76 has a traditional design.
The reservoir 78 has a high power capacity. The power level to be transmitted to
each railway vehicle exceeds 1 MW.
The reservoir 78 is sized to supply the necessary electrical energy for the quick
20 recharging of two sets similar to the set 5 shown in figure 1, i.e., one per circulation
direction, and to reconstitute its own energy reserves during a time interval between two
sets stopping one after the other in the station in question.
The time interval between two sets circulating in the same direction is typically
greater than 60 seconds.
25 The buffer reservoir 78 for example uses one or the other of the following
technologies, known in themselves: flywheels, supercapacitor modules, or magnetic
storage with superconductors.
The reservoir 78 is for example made up of a shunted association of several
storage units using supercapacitors or several flywheels.
30 The distribution units 80 comprise DC/DC power converters 82 (impedance
adaptation device).
There are advantageously at least as many distribution units 80 as there are
railway vehicles 7A to 7D in the set, or in two sets if the station 10 in question receives
two-way traffic.
35 In order to avoid any risk of electrification, the distribution units 80 are only
supplied with power when the set 5 is in the charging position. The automatic piloting
9
9
system 14 of the set 5 is adapted to control the electricity supply of the distribution units
80, advantageously such that the electrical energy is supplied while the doors are open
and is cut after the doors are closed.
The distribution units 80 are respectively adapted to limit the charge currents
arriving in the reservoirs 30 of the storage devices 20 and to control 5 the charge of the
reservoirs individually.
Each distribution units 80 is adapted to communicate, preferably by radio waves,
with the electronic energy control module 62 of the corresponding storage device 20.
Each distribution unit 80 for example comprises a support 84 and an end-piece 86
10 mounted on the support (figure 3).
The end-piece 86 is for example in the form of an upside down “V”, and
advantageously situated vertically at the railway track.
In the illustrated example, the connecting member of the storage devices 20
includes a moving part 88, for example forming an arm. The connecting member 34
15 comprises an end-piece 90 complementary to the end-piece 86 of the distribution units 80.
The connecting member 34 is adapted to respectively be electrically connected to one of
the distribution units 80.
The arm 88 is translatable relative to the railway vehicle 7A to 7D when stopped in
a vertical direction V of the railway vehicle, and rotatable relative to the railway vehicle
20 when stopped around an axis D1 substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction L of the
railway vehicle. The arm 88 is movable between an idle position (on the left figure 3) and
a lowered position (on the right in figure 3) in which the complementary end-piece 90 is in
electrical contact with the end-piece 86 of the corresponding distribution unit 80.
According to one alternative that is not shown, the moving part 88 is integrated into
25 the distribution unit 80 of the station and not the connecting member 34 of the storage
device 20 of the railway vehicle. Each distribution unit 80 then comprises a terminal
adapted to respectively be electrically connected to one of the storage devices 20, the
terminal being translatable relative to the railway vehicle 7A to 7D when stopped in the
vertical direction V, and rotatable relative to its support 84 around an axis substantially
30 parallel to the longitudinal direction L.
The connecting member 34 of the storage device 20 and the corresponding
distribution unit 80 are adapted to establish an electrical contact with a very low
impedance at the end-piece 86 and the complementary end-piece 90.
The automatic piloting system 14 is configured to ensure a longitudinal alignment
35 of the set 5 and distribution units 80 when the set is stopped in the station. The automatic
10
10
piloting system 14 is further adapted to command the deployment of each arm after the
set 5 is stopped in a station and the folding of each arm before the departure of the set.
Typical values used for positioning allowances of the set 5 relative to the
distribution units 80 are for example:
- longitudinally: 5 ± 250 mm,
- transversely: ± 27 mm, and
- heightwise: ± 30 mm.
According to one alternative shown in figure 4, the recharging device 40 does not
comprise a single energy reservoir, or a single rectifier. Each distribution unit 80 includes
10 a rectifier 76A, 76B, 76C, 76D and a buffer energy reservoir 78A, 78B, 78C, 78D mounted
in series with one another.
The buffer energy reservoirs 78A, 78B, 78C, 78D of the distribution units 80
advantageously incorporate flywheels. In this case, it is possible to do without DC/DC
impedance adaptation converters 82. In this configuration, one of the buffer energy
15 reservoirs 78A to 78D is respectively associated with one of the railway vehicles 7A to 7D.
The electronic energy control module 62 of each on-board reservoir 30 is then adapted to
pilot the flywheel directly that is associated with the railway vehicle in order to control the
charge of the on-board reservoir.
20 The operation of the railway transport system 1 will now be described.
The set 5 arrives in the station 10. The braking currents are transmitted by the
inverters 26 to the storage devices 20.
Nevertheless, the reservoirs 30 of the storage devices 20 specific to each railway
vehicle 7A to 7D can be in an incomplete charging state. Indeed, the storage devices 20
25 of the tractive units 7A, 7B, 7D have respectively supplied the tractive devices 22 with
electricity, and the storage device 20 of the towed vehicle 7C has supplied the auxiliary
devices 18 of the set 5.
The automatic piloting system 14 commands the set 5 to stop in the station 10 in
the position shown in figure 1, in which the connecting members 34 of the storage devices
30 20 are across from the distribution units 80 of the recharging device 40, with an
allowance.
The automatic piloting system 14 commands the opening of the doors of each
railway vehicle 7A to 7D and any sliding doors opposite them. The automatic piloting
system 14 commands the supply of electricity to the distribution units 80, the distribution
35 units advantageously not being supplied when there is no set stopped in the station 10.
11
11
The automatic piloting system 14 causes the moving part 88 of each connecting
member 34 of the storage devices 20 to lower. The end-piece 86 of each distribution unit
80 and the complementary end-piece 90 of each connecting member 34 then come into
electrical contact with a low impedance. If necessary, the moving part 88 pivots around
the axis D1 so as to allow a certain allowance in the relative position of 5 the railway vehicle
7A to 7D transversely relative to the support 84 of the distribution unit 80.
The recharging of the reservoir 30 of the storage devices 20 then begins. The
electronic energy control modules 62 then respectively communicate with the DC/DC
power converters 82 in order to individually limit the charge current of each storage device
10 20.
Each electronic module 62 adapts the recharging strategy to the charge level of
the corresponding reservoir 30 considered individually. When the reservoir 30 is rather
empty, the charge current is regulated in order to limit the dissipation in the cables and at
the contact between the end-piece 86 and the complementary end-piece 90. As the
15 charge level increases, a regulation of the charging power is implemented.
The electricity essentially comes from the buffer energy reservoirs 78. The buffer
energy reservoir 78 is supplied by the electrical energy source 72 via the transformer 74
and the rectifier 76.
The buffer energy reservoirs 78 make it possible to meet periodic energy needs
20 necessary to charge the sets 5 in a station, while ensuring smoothing over time of the
electrical power consumed by the recharging device 40 from the electrical energy source
72.
At any moment, the supervision and protection unit 32 can electrically isolate the
reservoir 30 in case of electrical overload or failure, and provides the energy management
25 device 12 of the set 5 with the parameters representative of the state of the reservoir.
Before the set 5 departs, the automatic piloting system 14 causes the moving part
88 of each connecting member 34 of the storage devices 20 to rise. The automatic piloting
system 14 also activates the closing of the doors of the set 5, and advantageously
deactivates the supply of electricity of the distribution unit 80.
30 The set 5 next leaves one of the stations 10 to move toward another of the stations
10. The set 5 is then self-powered.
The buffer reservoir 78 of the recharging device 40 then begins to reconstitute its
own energy reserve before another set 5 stops in the station 10.
In the set 5 that has just left, the auxiliary devices 18 considered together consume
35 an auxiliary electrical energy during the movement between the two successive stations
12
12
10. The storage device 20 of the towed railway vehicle 7C alone supplies the auxiliary
electrical energy for all of the railway vehicles 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D of the set 5.
Each tractive device 22 consumes electrical tractive power during the movement
from the station 10 toward the other station. Each storage device 20 of the tractive railway
vehicles 7A, 7B, 7D alone supplies the tractive power for the corresponding 5 tractive
device 22 during the movement.
The energy management device 12 adapts the mission of the set 5 with an energy
optimization objective. It acts so that the set 5 has the necessary electrical energy to
reach the following station 10.
10 To that end, the energy management device 12 determines, preferably in real
time, the appropriate acceleration and speed profile for the set 5. The on-board energy
management device 12 is informed at each moment by the supervision and protection
units 32 of the available energy reserves for the travel of the set 5 and the state of the
storage devices 20. The energy management device 12 monitors the evolution of the
15 charge level and the electrical performance of each storage device 20. The energy
management device 12 is informed by the automatic piloting system 14 of the current
position, speed and mission of the set 5.
The energy management device 12 estimates the energy needs in real time and
calculates the evolution of the reserves. In critical cases, the energy management device
20 12 asks the automatic piloting system 14 to modify the operation of the set 5 to ensure
that the set reaches and stops at the scheduled station.
The set 5 arrives in this other station 10. The process is repeated as described
above.
Owing to the features described above, the railway transport system 1 operates
25 with no catenary or third rail. The railway transport system 1 is therefore less expensive to
build and is easy to implement, in particular regarding maintenance.
Owing to the diagnostic of the health of the storage devices 20, it is possible to
establish preventive maintenance for the storage devices.
The set 5 advantageously incorporates, on-board, the necessary energy capacity
30 to see to the required performance under all operating conditions, without compromising
its availability rate.
The availability rate of the set 5 is maintained, or even improved, by using
redundancy to offset any potential failure of the storage device 20 of one of the tractive
units of the set.
13
13
Each reservoir 30 being directly connected to an inverter 26 with no voltage
converter, the energy efficiency and reliability are maximized. The bulk and weight of the
storage devices 20 are further limited.
Owing to the use of supercapacitor cells, the storage devices 20 have a lifetime
corresponding to more than one million charge/discharge cycles; additionally, 5 the state of
the reservoir 30 (charge state during operation and aging of the cells for maintenance) is
supervised simply.
The connection device shown in figure 3 makes it possible to establish a reliable
connection with low energy losses between each on-board reservoir 30 and the
10 recharging device 40.
The quantity of energy transferred to each of the reservoirs 30 of the set 5 is
adapted individually.
The buffer energy reservoir(s) 78 of the recharging device 40 offer(s) the following
advantages: smoothing of the energy consumption of the public grid, a significant
15 decrease in the connecting power to the grid, and a substantial reduction in the power of
the substation (transformer and rectifier).
The railway transport system 1 sees to the full transfer of the essential energy to
the on-board reservoirs 30 within a period shorter than the time related to travelers exiting
and new travelers boarding the set 5.
20 The recharging device 40 of the stations 10 being directly connected to the city's
electrical grid, the costs of deploying infrastructure exclusively for high-voltage electrical
transport are avoided. The railway transport system 1 avoids energy consumption peaks
from the public grid and does not disrupt this grid.

CLAIMS
1.- A railway transport system (1) comprising:
- at least one set (5) including railway vehicles (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D), each railway
vehicle (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) comprising a storage device (20) for storing electrical 5 power, and
- a plurality of stations (10) at which the set (5) is adapted to stop successively,
at least one (7A) of the railway vehicles (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) being a tractive unit
comprising an on-board tractive device (22) adapted to move the railway vehicle (7A)
between any two successive stations in said plurality, the tractive device (22) consuming
10 electrical tractive power as it moves, the storage device (20) of the railway vehicle (7A)
being adapted so that it alone supplies the electrical tractive power to the tractive device
(22) as it moves, and
each station (10) comprising a recharging device (40) for recharging the storage
devices (20), the recharging device (40) comprising distribution units (80) which are
15 adapted to be in electrical contact with the storage devices (20) when the set (5) is
stopped in said station (10), and to supply electrical power to the storage devices (20).
2.- The railway transport system according to claim 1, wherein the set (5) includes
auxiliary devices (18) able to produce compressed air or air-conditioned air, at least one
20 (7C) of the railway vehicles (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) being a towed vehicle with no on-board
tractive system, the auxiliary devices (18) considered together consuming auxiliary
electrical power during the movement between the two successive stations (10), the
storage device (20) of the towed vehicle being adapted so that it alone supplies the
auxiliary electrical energy for all of the railway vehicles (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D).
25
3.- The railway transport system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each
storage device (20) comprises at least one electricity storage reservoir (30), and a
supervision and protection unit (32) adapted to:
- provide parameters representative of a state of the reservoir (30), and
30 - electrically isolate the reservoir (30) in case of electrical overload or failure of the
reservoir (30).
4.- The railway transport system (1) according to claim 3, wherein the supervision
and protection unit (32) includes an electronic control module (62) for the electrical energy
35 stored in the storage device (20), the electronic module (62) being able to communicate,
15
15
preferably by radio waves, with the distribution unit (80) to control the supply of electrical
energy to the storage device (20).
5.- The railway transport system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
the set (5) comprises an on-board energy management device (12), 5 and an on-board
computer network (16) adapted to connect the energy management device (12) to each of
the storage devices (20), the energy management device (12) being able to receive, for
each storage device (20), information representative of the electrical energy stored in
each storage device (20).
10
6.- The railway transport system (1) according to claim 5, wherein the set (5)
comprises an automatic piloting system (14) able to pilot the set (5), the on-board energy
management device (12) being connected by the computer network (16) to the automatic
piloting system (14) and being adapted to:
15 - calculate an energy need of the set (5) to reach the second of the two successive
stations from parameters supplied by the automatic piloting system (14), and
- sent the automatic piloting system (14) an order to change the piloting of the set
(5).
20 7.- The railway transport system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
the recharging device (40) comprises a transformer (74), a rectifier unit (76), and a single
buffer electricity reservoir (78) shunt-mounted from each of the distribution units (80), the
electricity reservoir (78) having an electricity storage capacity greater than or equal to the
sum of the storage capacities of the storage devices (20) of the set (5), and at most equal
25 to twice the sum of the storage capacities of the storage devices (20) of the set (5).
8.- The railway transport system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
each of the distribution units (80) comprises at least one buffer electricity reservoir (78A,
78B, 78C, 78D), and preferably a single electricity reservoir.
30
9.- The railway transport system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein:
- each distribution unit (80) comprises a terminal adapted to respectively be
electrically connected to one of the storage devices (20), the terminal being translatable
along a vertical direction (V) with respect to the railway vehicle (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) when
35 stopped, and rotatable relative to the railway vehicle (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) when stopped
16
16
around an axis (D1) substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction (L) of the railway
vehicle (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D), or
- each storage device (20) comprises a connecting member (34) adapted to be
electrically connected to one of the distribution units (80), respectively, the connection unit
(34) being translatable relative to the railway vehicle (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) 5 when stopped in the
vertical direction (V), and rotatable relative to the railway vehicle (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) when
stopped around an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction (L).
10.- A railway transport method comprising the following steps:
10 - providing at least one set (5) including railway vehicles (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D)
comprising a storage device (20) for storing electrical power,
- providing a plurality of stations (10) at which the set (5) is adapted to stop
successively,
- each station (10) including a recharging device (40) for recharging the storage
15 devices (20), each recharging device (40) having energy distribution units (80),
- placing, at each station (10), distribution units (80) respectively in electrical
contact with the storage devices (20) when the set (5) is stopped in the station (10),
- providing, at each station (10), electrical energy to the storage devices (20),
respectively, via the distribution units (80) when the set (5) is stopped in the station (10),
20 - movement of at least one (7A) of the railway vehicles (7A, 7B, 7C, 7D) between
any two successive stations in said plurality using an on-board tractive device (22) of said
railway vehicle (7A), the railway vehicle (7A) being a tractive unit,
- consumption, by the tractive device (22), of electrical tractive power as it moves,
and
25 - providing, via the storage device (20) alone, electrical tractive power to the
tractive device (22).