Regenerative Breaking Energy Recovery

Abstract

regenerative braking energy is the energy produced by a train during deceleration. When a train decelerates, the motors act as generators and produce electricity. This energy can be fed back to the third rail and consumed by other trains accelerating nearby. If there are no nearby trains, this energy is dumped as heat to avoid over voltage. Regenerative braking energy can be saved by installing energy storage systems (ESS) and reused later when it is needed. In this comprehensive paper, the various methods and technologies that were proposed for regenerative energy recuperation have been analyzed, investigated, and compared. These technologies include: train timetable optimization, energy storage systems (onboard and wayside), and reversible substations.