Optimal design of a D.C. railway power supply system

This paper presents the methodology to design a power supply system for a D.C. rail line or network in an optimal and efficient way. The input data for such purpose are the exact track profile of all routes or lines, the locomotives, freight cars and passenger coaches characteristics of all the vehicles to be used in each line, and the railway network timetable. Assuming then some resistance equations, it is possible to calculate the trainspsila performance curves over the time, and therefore, their instantaneous power demands at their current locations. This paper focuses on calculating the number of the substations to be placed along the rail lines to feed the railway electric network, their optimal location, rated power, and D.C. voltage output, minimizing the power losses of the traction system as the main objective.