World's First Battery Tram Needs No Overhead Lines

The Railway Technical Research Institute of Japan announced on August 20, 2003 that the institute successfully conducted running tests of a battery tram, which requires no overhead lines. The tests were carried out at a test track located inside the institute's compound.

On one battery charge, this tram can run for 15 kilometers until the stored electricity is reduced by about half. Many positive results are expected with the practical application of this non-polluting tram, for example, elimination of overhead line maintenance costs and an improved landscape.

Lithium ion rechargeable batteries, which are used for hybrid vehicles, are employed to drive the tram. The high energy capacity and small, light construction of lithium ion rechargeable batteries make them suitable for this system. The tram's system collects energy in the batteries from motors that rotate when the tram applies the brakes.

The newly developed system was loaded in an existing tram to carry out these running tests. When brakes were applied to the maximum, 75% of the kinetic energy was collected in the batteries as electric energy, allowing successful recovery into the batteries of almost half of the energy used when the tram accelerated. Since this system has high energy efficiency, electricity stored in the batteries can be used effectively.




Posted: 2003/10/18 11:13:13 AM
Japanese version