Gourt Home::Gourt :: List of current systems for electric rail traction
This a list of the voltages, etc. that are used or have been used for railway electrification systems.
Note the voltages are nominal, and vary up and down depending on load and distance from the substation.
Key:
- Volts: voltage
- Hz: DC=direct current, or frequency in hertz if alternating current; single-phase except where marked three-phase
- Conductors: overhead lines or third rail
- Third rail can be
- top contact - oldest - least safe - affected by ice and snow
- side contact - newer - safer - not affected by ice and snow
- bottom contact - newer - safer - not affected by ice and snow
| Volts | Hz | Conductors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 | DC | third rail | Volk's Electric Railway - Brighton, England |
| 180 | DC | → | Siemens streetcar Berlin-Lichterfelde 1881-1891, current fed through the running rails! |
| 500 | DC | many tram systems | |
| 525 | DC | overhead | Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren |
| 550 | DC | overhead | Snaefell Mountain Railway, Isle of Man |
| 600 | DC | overhead | very common for older tram systems worldwide; still used in Boston, Melbourne, Toronto, Helsinki and Tallinn, Slovakia (Trencianske Teplice narrow gauge line) |
| third rail | New York City Subway system was used for trams in central London - third rail accessed via a slot between the tracks Metro-North Railroad (Hudson & Harlem lines, southern part of New Haven line; bottom-contact), the USA Southern Railway (some areas up to 1939) Subways of Glasgow and Toronto MBTA (Boston) Red Line and Orange Line subways, as well as part of the Blue Line subway. Chicago Transit Authority - elevated and subway lines, top-contact | ||
| Most older US subways, PATH | |||
| 630 | DC | four-rail | London Underground |
| 660 | DC | third-rail | Southern Railway (standard) |
| 725 | 50 Hz three-phase | overhead two wire | Gornergratbahn |
| 750 | DC | overhead | most modern tram systems Albtalbahn, railway of the Upper Rhine, Rhein-Haardtbahn local lines of Stern & Hafferl in Austria Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota Metropolitan Transit light rail, Sydney Light Rail Denver, Colorado (USA) Light Rail part of the Denver Regional Transpotation District * | Salt Lake City UTA TRAX Light Rail, Eskişehir Tramway System in Türkiye
| third rail | Undergrounds and metros in Russia, Prague, Berlin, Munich,Merseyrail, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Vienna, Lisbon, Budapest, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Washington, DC, Paris Métro (some guide rail), Montreal (guide bars) Amtrak Northeast Corridor within the Hudson and East River Tunnels in New York City Long Island Rail Road (USA) Southern Railway (large areas) SMRT (Singapore) | ||
| bottom contact third rail | London's Docklands Light Railway, Helsinki, Kolkata (Calcutta), India - Third rail top collection | ||
| 800 | DC | third rail | Berlin S-Bahn |
| 825 | AC | third rail | Moscow Metro |
| 850 | DC | Local railway Vienna | |
| third rail | Southern Railway (original route of Eurostar, pre-CTRL, upgraded from 750V) | ||
| 860 | DC | Switzerland (Mobilization) | |
| 900 | DC | Switzerland (GFM) | |
| 1000 | DC | Switzerland (SZU) RhB St Moritz - Tirano | |
| third rail | Bay Area Rapid Transit, USA | ||
| 1125 | 50 Hz three-phase | overhead two wire | Jungfraubahn |
| 1200 | DC | overhead | to 1985 KBE, Cuba (FdeC), Spain (Sóller Railway) 900 mm gauge mining railways in the Lusatian brown coal district, Estonia (Elektriraudtee) 1924-1941 and 1946-1958 |
| third rail | Hamburg S-Bahn Manchester to Bury line - obsolete | ||
| 1350 | DC | FART (Domodossola-Locarno) | |
| 1500 | DC | overhead | The Netherlands, France, Slovenia, Czech Republic (two local lines only near to Ceske Budejovice), Copenhagen S-Trains, India (Mumbai), DART (Dublin) Ireland, Japan, Switzerland (BOB, SPB, WAB), Spain (Catalan Railways, RENFE, Euskotren, FEVE), New Zealand (Wellington, and formerly Christchurch-Lyttelton, Arthur's Pass-Otira), Portugal (Cascais Line) Chicago: Metra Electric District Service (former Illinois Central Suburban Service) Great Eastern line from Liverpool Street London to Shenfield, 1949 to mid 1950s (converted to 6.25 kV) Manchester - Sheffield - Wath (via the Woodhead Tunnel) from 1954 to 1981 Tyne and Wear Metro | Hong Kong: MTR
| 2400 | DC | overhead wire | Work line of the Lausitzer brown coal AG |
| 3000 | DC | overhead wire | Rural lines in Poland, Belgium, India (Kolkata) converted to 25 KV AC, Italy (except Sardinia, changing to 25 kV AC in High Speed lines), former Soviet Union, Brazil, Chile, North Korea, Slovakia (northern, eastern lines, and the broad gauge line between Kosice and the UA border), Spain (changing to 25 kV AC), South Africa, Czech Republic (northern lines), Croatia (Rijeka-Moravice and Rijeka-Šapjane lines), Slovenia |
| 3500 | DC | overhead wire | Manchester - Bury (- Holcombe Brook) England. In 1918 converted to third rail (see above) |
| 3600 | 16 2/3 Hz three-phase | overhead two wire | from 1912 to 1976 in upper Italy |
| 6000 | DC | attempts in Russia | |
| 6250 | 50 Hz | Factory railway of Rheinbraun AG Great Eastern suburban lines from Liverpool Street London, 1950s to about 1980 (converted to 25 kV) | |
| 6300 | 25 Hz | Mariazeller Bahn | |
| 11,000 | 16 2/3 Hz | Rhaetian Railway, Furka-Oberalp-Bahn | |
| 11,000 | 25 Hz | Amtrak Northeast (NEC) and Keystone corridors (Washington, DC and Harrisburg, PA to New York City), SEPTA, New Jersey Transit, USA | |
| 12,500 | 60 Hz | Amtrak NEC and Metro-North Railroad (Manhattan, New York to New Haven), USA | |
| 15,000 | variable frequency up to 50 Hz three-phase | overhead three wire | trial runs between Zossen and Marienfelde, 1901 to 1904 |
| 15,000 | 16 2/3 Hz | since 1912 standard system in Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland | |
| 20,000 | 50 Hz | Höllentalbahn from 1933 to 1960 Japan(East area) | |
| 20,000 | 60 Hz | Japan(West area) | |
| 25,000 | 50 Hz | Great Britain, Slovakia (south-western lines only), former Soviet Union, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Turkey, Sardinia, Denmark, Australia (Queensland and Western Australia), China, Czech Republic (southern lines only), India, Iran, Italy (new installations), Japan (Tohoku-Joetsu-Nagano Shinkansen), Malaysia (KTM Komuter Service), Montenegro, South Korea, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (new installations), Finland, South Africa, New Zealand, proposed Botswana to Namibia line, Rübelandbahn Harz (Germany) | |
| 25,000 | 60 Hz | Amtrak NEC (New Haven to Boston), New Jersey Transit (newer lines), USA, Japan (Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen), South Korea, Montreal (Deux-Montagnes only) | |
| 50,000 | 50 Hz | Pit removal line South Africa | |
| 50,000 | 60 Hz | Black Mesa and Lake Powell: coal removal line from mine near Kayenta, AZ to Page, AZ |
Overhead lines and third rails of special type
DC, two overhead wires
DC, two electric rails for current supply
- London Underground
- Paris Metro (Rubber Tyre lines only)
- Milan Transportation System (Metro)
Three phase AC, three overhead wires
- Test track Berlin-Lichtenhain, 1.8 km, 1898-1901
- Test track Zossen-Marienfelde, 23.4 km, 1901-1904
- Rack Railway Tagebau Gruhlwerk, 0.7 km, 1927-1949
See also
- Railway electrification system
- Traction current
- Streetcar
- Tram
- Light rail
- Conduit current collection
- Ground level power supply
External links
- http://www.bahnstrom.de/bahnstromsysteme/weltweit_kopf.htm
- Map of European voltage-systems
- Southern Electric, England - details of electrification
Liste der Bahnstromsysteme | Liste des courants utilisés en traction ferroviaire électrique | Lijst van elektrificatiesystemen | Lista över järnvägarnas elsystem
"List of current systems for electric rail traction"