30 ABB review 2|10 Switzerland by rail Supplying traction power for the country’s major railway initiatives RENÉ JENNI, REMIGIUS STOFFEL, MELANIE NYFELER – Switzerland is generally considered a pioneer when it comes to public transport. In no other part of the world are trains, trams and buses used as often as they are in this small Alpine country. In fact, so beloved is the public transportation system in Switzerland that its people have repeatedly voted in favor of extending the already comprehensive rail network even further. The country’s aim is to carry more travelers on public transport and transfer more freight from road to rail. ABB is participating in this effort, supplying the power for the two new base tunnels through the Alps – the Lötschberg and the Gotthard – as well as DC traction substations for public transport in the conurbations around the cities of Zurich, Bern and Luzern. tudies repeatedly show that has not only increased the frequency of the Swiss are world champi- its timetable, it also continually upgrades ons when it comes to travel- its rolling stock. S ing by train. On average, each of the country’s residents travels 40 times When it comes to rail transport in an in- each year on Swiss trains, amounting to ternational context, the Alpine country about 900,000 people on the Swiss rail- also sets milestones and pursues an ac- road system every single day [1,2] ➔ 1. tive policy of transporting goods by train Not surprisingly Switzerland has the rather than truck, where possible. Today highest frequency of train services in the Switzerland is the most important transit world. country for goods crossing the Alps by rail. In 2008, 40 million tons of freight Thanks to the strategic transportation were transported through Switzerland, policy of the Swiss government, Switzer- more than half of which – around 25 mil- land has a very well developed rail net- lion metric tons – were transported by work, which ensures that rural areas can train [3]. Many referenda have also dem- be reached and offers rail connections onstrated the Swiss’ support for trans- between cities that operate every hour or port of goods by rail. An important step even every half hour. To meet the grow- in enabling such rail transport is the con- ing demand, Swiss Federal Railways struction of the New Railway Link through Photo © AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd. (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, or SBB) the Alps (NRLA), which integrates Swit- Switzerland by rail 31 1 Comparison of European railways (2007) [1] 2 Alpine base tunnels (©AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd.). Train route from Basel, Switzerland to Milano, Italy via the 57 km long Gotthard base tunnel Country Total km Number of rail of train journeys per 2,500 resident Switzerland 3,158 40 Luxembourg 275 33 2,000 Denmark 2,133 29 Gotthard base tunnel Austria 5,702 24 1,500 Germany 33,890 22 The Netherlands 2,776 20 Göschenen Airolo 1,000 Belgium 3,374 19 Meters above sea level Ceneri base tunnel Arth-Goldau Czech Republic 9,460 17 Zurich 500 France 29,918 16 Erstfeld Lugano Basel Zug Biasca Chiasso Milano Spain 13,368 11 Bellinzona Italy 16,335 9 0 Proposed Zimmerberg base tunnel zerland into the growing European high- transformers for connecting the two net- Switzerland’s second cross-Alpine link is speed network. Thanks to the two NRLA works of the local energy suppliers. powering ahead. The base tunnel of the axes – Gotthard and Lötschberg – the Gotthard is the heart of the NRLA and is annual capacity of goods transported by The second part of the order involved the expected to make a marked improve- rail will more than double from 20 million 16.7 Hz traction power supply system. ment in travel and freight options in cen- metric tons in 2003 to around 50 million To connect Switzerland to the high-speed tral Europe. When it goes into operation metric tons once the two routes have European network, the contact lines in in 2017, the Gotthard base tunnel will, at been completed in 2017. the tunnel were specially designed for about 57 km, be the longest tunnel in the train speeds of up to 250 km/h. The trac- world ➔ 2. The building project is both Traction power for Lötschberg tion power supply system is designed in immense and pioneering. Creating the The Lötschberg base tunnel was opened such a way that several train configura- twin tubes with connecting crossways in December 2007 after a construction tions with up to six locomotives and means removing – in sections – a total and planning period of about 10 years. freight trains of up to 1.5 km in length stretch of 152 km of rock. This work will This new rail tunnel considerably reduces can be supplied with power simultane- be completed in autumn 2010. Installa- travel time from the north to the Valais ously. Consequently, the switching and tion of the electrical equipment is already region of Switzerland in the south. Every protection equipment must be able to underway in some parts of the tunnel. day around 40 passenger and 110 goods handle short-circuit currents of over trains pass through the Alps at an alti- 40 kA. Here too, ABB is supplying the power tude of about 800 m – about double the engineering equipment. The company is numbers that pass through the much ABB installed air-insulated single-phase to supply gas-insulated medium-voltage higher link between Goppenstein and UniGear R36 switching panels, which of- switching panels and protection equip- Kandersteg, which has been used to fer maximum security to personnel and ment for the 50 Hz tunnel infrastructure. date also as a car shuttle. systems. The traction power supply as- The 875 medium-voltage units will pro- semblies, including its highly sophisti- vide a reliable supply of power and, at This once-in-a-century achievement, cated substation with numerous cross-galleries and huge automation and excavations for the technical systems, protection system, In 2008, 40 million metric tons also provided a tremendous challenge are installed in con- for ABB. The company was responsible tainers. The con- of freight were transported for the design, supply, installation and tainers are then through Switzerland, more commissioning of the 16.7 Hz traction placed in different power supply system and the 50 Hz en- operating centers than half of which were ergy distribution system. housing all systems required to safely transported by train. The supplied medium-voltage system operate the railway provides the power to the infrastructure system. Two local control centers near the same time, must withstand harsher for the lighting, signaling, communica- the northern and southern tunnel portals than usual climatic conditions while re- tions, ventilation and air conditioning sys- contain the workstations from which the quiring a minimal amount of mainte- tems, as well as the safety doors in the power supply systems are controlled and nance. entire tunnel. The medium-voltage distri- monitored. bution system includes 21 transformer The two parallel, single-track tunnel stations with UniGear ZS1 air-insulated The world’s longest rail tunnel tubes are connected to each other every medium-voltage switchgear, 30 distribu- To the east of Lötschberg and nearly in 325 m by a 40 m long crossway. The sys- tion transformers and two 5 MVA coupling the center of the country, the work on tems for supplying electricity to the tun- 32 ABB review 2|10 3 AlpTransit Gotthard tunnel overview (© AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd. Adapted by ABB) 4 REF542plus is providing fault protection in the Gotthard tunnel. Multifunction station Bodio Faido Emergency Sedrun stop Access Tunnel Faido 57 km Multifunction station Sedrun REF542plus Erstfeld Cable tunnel Access tunnel Amsteg Control center (50 Hz) 50 Hz MV system System & maintenance LAN nel infrastructure are installed in these ing the control cabinet, has been en- Urban transport system in Zurich cross-galleries, which serve as escape sured. The reliability and availability of ABB is not only providing the power re- routes between the two tunnel tubes ➔ 3. these systems is essential for safety in quired to cross the Alps by rail – the Because conditions in the tunnel are the tunnel. This task is primarily handled company’s power supply systems have harsher than usual – factors such as salt by the REF542plus multifunction protec- also been used successfully for light rail deposits, brake dust, soot particles and tion and control unit, which has been on and urban transport. In the Zurich region, abraded material from the rails and con- the market for more than 10 years ➔ 4. a new light rail system is being built, tact wires come in to play – ZX0-type which will link the adjacent Glattal resi- gas-insulated switchgear is used. An im- Over 500 units of this type have been dential and business area with the dy- portant feature of this switchgear is that installed at different points throughout namic center of the country’s largest city. it is extremely compact, with a field width the length of the tunnel. Here, the The 150,000 inhabitants and 120,000 of only 400 mm. By combining up to six REF542plus performs its most important fields to form a fully functioning switch- task using the newly developed, multi- gear block, it is possible to exchange stage distance protection. In order to ABB is supplying complete switchgear units within a very provide optimum selectivity in a network, short time in the event of a fault. This while at the same time provide a stable the 50 Hz tunnel functionality is critical for the operation of and reliable supply, fast identification of the Gotthard base tunnel, because rail the fault type and the location of the fault infrastructure with traffic will have to be interrupted when is important, so that just the faulty parts 875 gas-insulated access to the crossway is needed.