Electric Traction

• The action of pulling something over a surface (especially a

road or a track) is known as traction.
• The action of drawing of vehicles by electric power derived
from overhead wires, storage batteries or diesel generators
mounted on the vehicles is known as electric traction.
• The traction system which uses electric power for its
operation is known as electric traction.
• The electric traction system is widely used in electric trains,
tramcars, trolley buses and hybrid vehicles, etc.
• Advantages of Electric Traction
• Cleanliness − Electric traction is free from smoke and flue
gases, etc. Therefore, it is most suitable type of traction
system to be used for underground and tubular railways.
• Less starting time − Electric locomotives can be stating
without any loss of time.
• Less maintenance cost & time − The maintenance cost of an
electric traction system is about half of that of steam traction
system and also the time required for maintenance is quite
low.
• High starting torque − The motor used in electric traction is
DC series motor or AC series motor which has a very high
starting torque. Hence, the electric locomotives has very high
acceleration.
• High traffic handling capacity − As the electric locomotives
have high acceleration which makes the traffic handling
capacity almost double of that of the steam locomotive.
• Require lesser terminal space − As the electric traction has high traffic
handling capacity. Therefore, it needs lesser terminal space because quicker
disposal of passengers to destination is there and hence gathering is
reduced.
• Regenerative braking is possible − In case of electric traction system
regenerative braking can be applied which feeds back about 80% of electrical
energy to the supply. Also, due the presence of electric braking, there is less
requirement of mechanical braking. Thus, maintenance cost of brake shoes,
wheel types and rails get reduced on account of less wear and tear.
• Center of gravity − Height of electric locomotive is quite less as compared to
steam locomotive which results in lowering of center of gravity. This makes
the electric locomotive more suitable for taking curvy turns at higher speeds
safely.
• Saving in high grade coal − The use of electric locomotive saves high grade
coal which is quite deficient in India. Electrical energy required for running
electric locomotives is taken either from hydro-electric power station or
thermal power station which uses low grade coal for electricity generation.
• Electric traction has high power-to-weight to ratio.
• The electrification of railway encourages rural electrification.
 Disadvantages
• Electric traction has high capital cost due to overhead
equipment, so electric traction becomes uneconomical unless
heavy traffic is to be handled.
• In electric traction, a power failure for few minutes causes
distortion in traffic.
• Electric traction can be used only at the places which are
electrified.
• Electric traction is tied to electric routes.
• Power lines for electric traction causes disturbance in
neighboring communication lines.
 System of Electrification for Traction
• Based on the availability of
1. Supply
2. Area of track electrification and
3. Type of electric traction service (mainline, urban, or suburban)

• Following track electrification or electric traction systems are

employed,
1. DC Traction System,
2. AC Traction System,
3. Three-phase AC Traction System,
4. Composite Traction System.
 DC Traction System
• In the dc traction system, dc series motors are employed due to their
high starting torque.
• The operating voltage range of the motor lies between 1500-3000V.
• However, dc compound motors with operating voltage at 600V are
also used for tramways and trolleybuses where regenerative braking
is required.
• Usually, an ac supply at a voltage range between 33kV to 100kV is
fed to the substation.
• The substation is equipped with a transformer to step down the
voltage level and rotary converters to convert ac power into dc
power.
• Then after the dc power supply is fed to the locomotive through an
overhead conductor.
• Advantages of DC System
• The characteristic of DC series motor is better than ac traction
motor.
• Maintenance cost is low
• The weight of DC motor per HP is less in comparison to ac
motors
• Better speed control.
• In a dc traction system, rail act as a return conductor, thus only
one conductor is used.

However in this case the overall cost will be more because of

heavy cost of additional equipment eg. Converting machinery,
boosters etc.
 Single Phase AC Systems
• In this traction system, ac power is supplied to the locomotive.
• Generally, ac series motors with operating voltage in the range
of 300V-400V at 16 2/3 or 25Hz frequency are used.
• A voltage level in the range of 15kV to 25kV at normal
frequency is fed to the overhead distribution wire from the
substation.
• Later in the locomotive, the high voltage is stepped down to
300V-400V at a frequency of 16 2/3 or 25Hz using a step-down
transformer and frequency changer.
 Advantages
• Rapid acceleration and retardation have less effect on the
system.
• Less cost.
• Low-frequency operation improves commutation, efficiency,
and power factor of ac series motor.
• Low-frequency operation reduces the line reactance and
hence voltage drop.
 Three Phase AC traction
• In a three-phase traction system, three-phase induction
motors operating at 3000 to 3600V at a frequency of 16 2/3
Hz are used.
• Two overhead conductors are used and the track acts as the
third conductor.
• Three-phase induction motors have to be built to operate at
moderately high voltages. The line voltage may be chosen
such that the motors may be supplied directly from the
overhead wires.
• The sub-station receives power at a high voltage where it is
stepped down and converted to the desired frequency.
• Advantages of Three-Phase Traction System :
• Three-phase induction motors are simple, robust, and
efficient with low-cost regeneration.
• Disadvantages of Three-Phase Traction System :
• Difficult to collect current from overhead conductors.
• Induction motors have low starting torque, high
starting current, and difficult speed control. However,
these drawbacks can be overcome by using power
electronics based circuits.
• The induction motors have almost constant speed
characteristics which are not suitable for a traction
system. However, speed control can be achieved by
cascade connection and pole-changing methods.
 Composite System
• This system combines the advantages of dc and ac
(three-phase/single-phase) systems.
• Single-phase system is preferred due to a better distribution
system and easy current collection.
• Hence, in a composite system, power distributed to the
locomotive is single-phase ac wherein it is converted to
three-phase or dc at the required level.
• There are two types of composite systems as given below.
• 1. Single-Phase to Three-Phase System
• In this system, single-phase power at 15kV, 50Hz is transmitted
to the locomotive.
• The single-phase supply will be converted to a three-phase
supply by a phase converter and fed to a three-phase
induction motor on the locomotive.
• Power electronics based inverter circuits are used to generate
ac at low frequency i.e., 10Hz.
• At low frequency, the three-phase induction motor develops
high starting torque without drawing excess current from the
supply.
• Speed control can also be obtained by varying the supply
frequency.
Advantages of single-phase ac to three-phase ac traction system
• The difficulty of collecting current in a three-phase system can
be overcome.
• Less expensive than a three-phase distribution network.
• The design of the substation is simple and flexible in substation
location.
• 2. Single phase AC to DC system
• Single-phase power supply at 15kV to 25kV, 50Hz is distributed
and fed to the locomotive.
• The locomotive is equipped with a transformer that will step
down the voltage. This stepped-down voltage is fed to a
converter which converts ac to dc.
• The dc thus generated will be fed to a dc traction motor.
Advantages of a single-phase ac to dc traction system
• Due to high voltage distribution. This reduces the
cross-sectional area and hence the cos, line current for a
given power rating is reducedt of supporting structure is
also reduced.
• DC series motors have ideal traction characteristics for
getting the required propelling power.
• Disadvantages of a single-phase ac to dc traction
system
• Single-phase ac system imposes unbalance on the power
supply system.
• Interference with communication lines.