Switched reluctance motor drives for rail traction: relative assessment

The paper reports an assessment of the technical and economic benefits of switched reluctance motor systems applied to railway propulsion in motor sizes of 100¿200 kW. Several forms of power electronic circuit have been considered for providing the pulsed DC supply required. Comparison is made with inverter-fed induction motor drives using conventional McMurray three-phase PWM thyristor inverters. Further comparisons are drawn against chopper-fed DC motor systems such as are currently entering service on various railways. It is concluded that the motor itself should offer lower maintenance requirements, higher reliability and a greater power/weight ratio than either the induction motor or the DC motor. The total system, however, appears to show no clear benefits over the induction motor system, and both types are at present more expensive than DC motor systems. (A second view on switched reluctance motor drives by Ray et al. is also published in the same issue.)