Periodic Reporting for period 4 - IN2STEMPO (Innovative Solutions in Future Stations, Energy Metering and Power Supply)
Période du rapport: 2021-01-01 au 2021-12-31
Rail travel is generally considered as one of the most sustainable modes of travel. However a lot can still be done to ensure that the industry is effectively and efficiently managing its power supply and energy consumption. In addition, railway industry should be combining the efficient asset management with understanding and addressing the changing needs of technology savvy customers who demand a variety of services and experiences hitherto unavailable at stations or in the wider rail industry.
Consequently, the railway industry needs greater flexibility to change and react. It needs to embrace and develop new technologies, so that it can meet and exceed the expectations of its customers. At its core, this means not only improving the customer facing parts of the railway system, but also upgrading and innovating in engineering disciplines such as High Voltage Power Systems, Energy Metering, Smart and Intelligent Infrastructure and making best use of advances in IT technologies.
The IN2STEMPO project seeks to harness the advances in these technologies to reduce rail’s life-cycle costs, improve its capacity and performance whilst ensuring that the travellers satisfaction and safety is at the heart of all we are undertaking.
To achieve that the project addresses specifically the topic of “Smart system energy management solutions and future station solutions” of the 2017 Horizon 2020 Shift2Rail Call for proposals for the Joint Undertaking Members (S2R-CFM-IP3-01-2017).
Consequently, the railway industry needs greater flexibility to change and react. It needs to embrace and develop new technologies, so that it can meet and exceed the expectations of its customers. At its core, this means not only improving the customer facing parts of the railway system, but also upgrading and innovating in engineering disciplines such as High Voltage Power Systems, Energy Metering, Smart and Intelligent Infrastructure and making best use of advances in IT technologies.
The IN2STEMPO project seeks to harness the advances in these technologies to reduce rail’s life-cycle costs, improve its capacity and performance whilst ensuring that the travellers satisfaction and safety is at the heart of all we are undertaking.
To achieve that the project addresses specifically the topic of “Smart system energy management solutions and future station solutions” of the 2017 Horizon 2020 Shift2Rail Call for proposals for the Joint Undertaking Members (S2R-CFM-IP3-01-2017).
Despite the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the progress for this reporting period has been very good, with many project tasks and deliverables being achieved in accordance with the project objectives, and even in the case of experienced delays, the overall project delivery has not been affected, and we maintain the path of finishing the project in September 2022.
The highlights of this reporting period are as follows:
Work Package 9 (WP9 - Safety Management in Public Areas) has concluded its timely delivery with the publication of the Rail Industry Security and Vulnerability Assessment Model (D9.3) and updated version of Station Security Manual (D9.1) which present a risk model that can be used to assess PBIED (person-borne improvised explosive device) treat scenarios and assess different mitigation strategies as well as the interactive 3D visualisation tool for the data modelling.
The project’s contribution towards the TD3.10 - Smart Metering for Railway Distributed Energy Resource Management System – work conducted under WP4 and WP5 - have seen the installation of all bespoke smart meters and data collection commences as planned too.
Excellent progress has been also made in WP3 (FACTS for 50 Hz AC Rail Power Supply) that contribute to Technology Demonstrator TD3.9 Smart Power Supply. Specifically, the system application rules of the 5 types of Flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) studied (SFC, RIPFC, RPC, STATCOM, SVC) ranging from the specifications of the products, to requirements, presentation of FACTS, challenges encountered by the infrastructure manager, and the steps before the homologation of the product have been finalised.
Finally, dissemination and communication activities of the project have intensified in this reporting period, and varied from paper and abstract submissions, release of project newsletter to attendance to industry relevant events (including active presence at Shift2Rail’s Innovation Days 2021).
The highlights of this reporting period are as follows:
Work Package 9 (WP9 - Safety Management in Public Areas) has concluded its timely delivery with the publication of the Rail Industry Security and Vulnerability Assessment Model (D9.3) and updated version of Station Security Manual (D9.1) which present a risk model that can be used to assess PBIED (person-borne improvised explosive device) treat scenarios and assess different mitigation strategies as well as the interactive 3D visualisation tool for the data modelling.
The project’s contribution towards the TD3.10 - Smart Metering for Railway Distributed Energy Resource Management System – work conducted under WP4 and WP5 - have seen the installation of all bespoke smart meters and data collection commences as planned too.
Excellent progress has been also made in WP3 (FACTS for 50 Hz AC Rail Power Supply) that contribute to Technology Demonstrator TD3.9 Smart Power Supply. Specifically, the system application rules of the 5 types of Flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) studied (SFC, RIPFC, RPC, STATCOM, SVC) ranging from the specifications of the products, to requirements, presentation of FACTS, challenges encountered by the infrastructure manager, and the steps before the homologation of the product have been finalised.
Finally, dissemination and communication activities of the project have intensified in this reporting period, and varied from paper and abstract submissions, release of project newsletter to attendance to industry relevant events (including active presence at Shift2Rail’s Innovation Days 2021).
The railway is considered relatively clean form of transport that is a contributor towards reducing global CO2 emissions, improving air quality and proactively manage biodiversity. These are collectively termed as the ‘three pillars of sustainability’:
1. People (Social Impact) – the railway has a long history of improving the quality of life for people who are able to use it. This includes local job creation and increasing incomes, increase in local businesses and recreational facilities, reduction in social deprivation and provision of local, regional and long-distance transport.
2. Planet (Environmental Impact) – the railway provides a means of low-carbon transport for both passengers and freight and is a key part of reducing carbon emissions and tackling future climate change. It can also significantly improve air quality in major cities and contribute towards improving biodiversity and the local ecology.
3. Profit (Economic Impact) – improving rail infrastructure has a positive impact on local businesses and national GDP. Improving the connectivity of national cities as well as European countries will also increase tourism and other commercial activities (retail, leisure etc).
The In2Stempo research had been designed to contribute towards these three pillars of sustainability. And although, the progress beyond ‘state of the art’ cannot be fully reported at this stage, it is expected that improvements in energy consumption mapping will enable traction and non-traction energy consumption to be analysed at a very granular level, potentially leading to significant power and energy use reductions. Similarly advances in intelligent infrastructure and automated controls will enable a step change in terms of rail utilisation and predictive maintenance/fault analyses.
Finally, advances in IT technology and, in particular, the use of mobile phone apps have the potential to dramatically change the way travelling customers use and experience the railway. Specifically, it is expected that for ‘persons of reduced mobility’ (PRM) this technology will significantly increase their access to rail services.
1. People (Social Impact) – the railway has a long history of improving the quality of life for people who are able to use it. This includes local job creation and increasing incomes, increase in local businesses and recreational facilities, reduction in social deprivation and provision of local, regional and long-distance transport.
2. Planet (Environmental Impact) – the railway provides a means of low-carbon transport for both passengers and freight and is a key part of reducing carbon emissions and tackling future climate change. It can also significantly improve air quality in major cities and contribute towards improving biodiversity and the local ecology.
3. Profit (Economic Impact) – improving rail infrastructure has a positive impact on local businesses and national GDP. Improving the connectivity of national cities as well as European countries will also increase tourism and other commercial activities (retail, leisure etc).
The In2Stempo research had been designed to contribute towards these three pillars of sustainability. And although, the progress beyond ‘state of the art’ cannot be fully reported at this stage, it is expected that improvements in energy consumption mapping will enable traction and non-traction energy consumption to be analysed at a very granular level, potentially leading to significant power and energy use reductions. Similarly advances in intelligent infrastructure and automated controls will enable a step change in terms of rail utilisation and predictive maintenance/fault analyses.
Finally, advances in IT technology and, in particular, the use of mobile phone apps have the potential to dramatically change the way travelling customers use and experience the railway. Specifically, it is expected that for ‘persons of reduced mobility’ (PRM) this technology will significantly increase their access to rail services.