ANSALDO STS:On September 18, the Tramwave catenary-free power supply technology will be the subject of a technical seminar on the Ansaldo STS stand in Hall 4.2. The Italian company has been developing Tramwave for several years (RG 8.09 p40), and recently licensed it for use in the Chinese market.
Reflecting elements of the conduit supply systems used by many tramways in the first half of the last century, a magnetic shoe attached to the underframe of the tram runs over a steel plate embedded between the running rails. The magnets then lift a flexible ferromagnetic belt housed in a GRP trough located beneath the steel plate, where an energised 750 V DC conductor rail and an earthed contact are also enclosed.
As each segment of the belt is lifted by the magnets, it touches the positive feeder from where current is fed to the collector shoe. This method differs substantially from Alstom’s APS approach, for example, where radio-controlled switches energise short sections of conductor rail as a tram passes over them.
Ansaldo STS will be holding a second seminar on September 19 looking at developments in satellite-based train control. Its range of ERTMS products will also be a prime focus; the company claims the Italian high speed network is the first to rely solely on ETCS Level 2 for train control.
The company will also be referencing its experience in developing unattended metro networks, with case studies from Honolulu, Brescia and the Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University campus in Riyadh amongst others.
