Overview on Recuperation of Regenerative Braking
Energy in Urban Rail Transit System
Abstract— In recent years, Urban rail transit system (i.e. Metro
System) emerges as the efficient mode of transportation in intra
city as well as intercity transport. Electric trains are widely
utilized in Metro System rather than other due to its overwhelming
results in context of pollution, efficiency, reliability, etc. In World,
electric rail transit system is the big consumer of electricity.
Different methods are generally utilized as a braking system in rail
transit system among which regenerative braking is widely used in
present. In trains with regenerative braking system, a fraction of
energy used to power a train is regenerated during the braking. If
this energy not utilized in proper manner, then it dumps in the
form of heat to avoid overvoltage. Finding a way to recuperate the
regenerative energy provides the economic as well as technical
merits. In this paper, different methods for recuperation of
regerative braking energy is compared, analyzed. This paper also
emphasizes on the concept of Reversible Sub-station.
Index Terms— Regenerative Braking Energy feedback system
(RBEFS), Reversible Sub-Station (RSS), Converters, Urban Rail
Transit System (URTS)
I. Introduction
Increasing the overall efficiency of electric rail transit systems
is critical to achieve energy saving, and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emission reduction [1], [2]. Energy efficiency and reduction in
consumption of energy is the prima facie requirement any rail
transit system. In India, the rail sector accounted for 9.6 % of
CO2 emission from transport and for 5% of transport final
energy demand [3]. In general, electric train operation can be
divided into four modes: acceleration, cruising, coasting and
braking [4]. During the acceleration mode, a train accelerates
and draws energy from a catenary or a third rail (i.e. a power
supply rail, located next to the traction rails). In the cruising
mode, the power of the motor is almost constant. In the coasting
mode, the speed of the train is nearly constant, and it draws a
negligible amount of power. In the braking mode, the train
decelerates until it stops. In light rail traction systems and in
urban areas, since the distance between the passenger stations
is short, the cruising mode is typically omitted [5]. In Urban
transit system, due to short distance between stations train is
required frequently starting and stoppage [6]. Due to its
frequent stoppage at every station, train can generate the
significant amount of regeneration of electric energy [7]. There
are several types of train braking systems, including
regenerative braking, resistance braking and air braking. In
regenerative braking, which is common in today’s electric rail
systems, a train decelerates by reversing the operation of its
motors. During braking, the motors of a train act as generators
converting mechanical energy to electrical energy [8].
Regenerative braking energy that is fed back to the third rail
by a braking train can be utilized by neighboring trains that
might be accelerating within the same power supply section as
the braking one. However, this involves a high level of
uncertainty since there is no guarantee that a train will be
accelerating at the same time and location when/where
regenerative energy is available [9]. The amount of energy that
can be reused by the neighboring trains depends on several
factors, such as train headway and age of the system. If there
are no nearby trains to use this regenerated energy, which is
typically the case, the voltage of the third rail tends to increase.
There is an over-voltage limit to protect equipment in the rail
transit system [10]. To adhere to this limit, a braking train may
not be able to inject its regenerative energy to the third rail. The
excess energy must be dissipated in the form of heat in onboard
or wayside dumping resistors. This wasted heat warms up the
tunnel and substation, and must be managed through a
ventilation system [11].
Several solutions have been proposed in the literature to
maximize the reuse of regenerative braking energy: (1) Train
Timetable Optimization, (2) Energy Storage System (ESS), (3)
Reversible Sub-Station [12]. In train Timetable Optimization,
synchronization of multiple trains operation has been
investigated. By synchronizing trains operation, when a train is
braking and feeding regenerative energy back to the third rail,
another train is simultaneously accelerating and absorbing this
energy from the third rail. In ESS, regenerative braking energy
is stored in an electric storage medium, such as super capacitor,
battery and flywheel, and released to the third rail when
demanded. The storage medium can be placed on board the
vehicle or beside the third rail, i.e. wayside [13]. In reversible
substation, path is provided for regenerative energy to flow in
reverse direction and feed power back to the main AC grid [14].
This rest of paper is organized as follow: Section II discuss the
basic power supply system for rail along with merits and
demerits of above three proposed solutions for regenerative
braking energy. Section III discuss the type of reversible sub-
stations with merits and demerits of each-one. It also discusses
the real time application of it. Section IV discuss the case study
of Metro Line 13 at the Wudaokou station at Beijing, China
where DC traction is employed [30]. Section V discuss the
conclusion derives from above proposed solutions
II.Power Supply Arrangement and
comparison of proposed solutions
A. Power Supply Arrangement
Schematic of Basic power supply arrangement is illustrated in
Fig. 1 as below. In this, the Power flow is shown from High
Voltage AC to DC stage wise. It is consisting of the
transformers that step down the voltage and there is a
unidirectional rectifier that converts AC voltage to DC voltage
required for operation of the transit system. In order to increase
the reliability of the system, another set of transformer and
rectifier is place parallel with the first set.
Main 3-Ph AC Power Supply (132kV)
Power
Transformer-1
132/33kV
33/0.630-0.630 kV
Traction
Transformer
To Aux. Power Supply Network
24 Pulse
Rectifier
- + - +
Third Rail
Running Rail
Fig. 1 System Overview
To prevent personnel injuries and equipment damage,
protection devices such as circuit breaker, insulator is placed at
both AC and DC side. There is also a separate transformer
(auxiliary transformer) that supply the power for elevators,
escalator, ventilation systems, lighting systems and other
auxiliary loads. The railway network consists of traction rails
and power rails. Train is moved on the traction rails and get
power from a power rail called the third rail. Power rail can be
overhead or next to the running rail on the ground. To have a
better operation, control, protection and maintenance, the rail
system is divided into the sections. Each section is supplied by
one substation or two substations placed at each side. Trains are
the important component of electric rail transit systems are
consisting of several cars connected to each other. Each car has
electric drives including electric machine, power electronic
converter and gearbox that control the torque and speed
required by the wheels. Now, the following section discuss the
proposed three solutions (i.e. Train Timetable Optimization,
Energy Storage System, Reversible Sub-Station) in detail.
B. Train Timetable Optimization
Train timetable optimization has been proposed as one of the
approaches to maximize the reuse of regenerative braking
energy. In this method, the braking and acceleration actions of
two neighboring trains are scheduled to occur simultaneously;
therefore, some of the energy produced by the decelerating train
is used by an accelerating one.
Some studies show that up to 14% of energy saving can be
achieved through timetable optimization [13]- [14]. Studies that
have been performed on train timetable optimization can be
classified, according to their objectives, into two main
categories: minimizing peak power demand, and maximizing
the utilization of regenerative braking energy [15]. In recent,
the studies have been carried out by optimizing the dwell time
at each station along with speed optimization of train. Speed
profile optimization is one of the conventional approaches used
Power
to improve the energy efficiency of electric rail transit system.
Transformer-2 Research is also carried out by synchronizing the
132/33kV
acceleration/De-acceleration of train of one section. However,
due to certain constraint this method is not implemented in real
time system.
C. Energy Storage System (ESS)
An energy storage system, if properly designed, can capture the
33/0.415kV
energy produced by a braking train and discharge it when
Aux.
Transformer
needed. Consequently, the amount of energy consumed from
the main grid is reduced [15]- [17]. In addition, using ESS can
reduce the peak power demand, which not only benefits the rail
transit system but also the power utility. ESS may be used to
provide services to the main grid, such as peak shaving. ESS
can be implemented in two different ways: onboard and
wayside. In onboard, ESS is mostly located on the roof of each
train. On the other hand, wayside ESS is located outside the
train, on the trackside. It can absorb the regenerative energy
produced by all trains braking within the same section and
deliver it later to other trains accelerating nearby. ESS can be
implemented using 1) Batteries, 2), Using Flywheel, 3) Super
Capacitor. Batteries work based on the following principle: due
to reversible chemical reactions (i.e. oxidation and reduction)
that occur at the electrodes, a potential difference appears
between them (voltage between the anode and the cathode).
Consequently, energy can reversibly change from the electrical
form to the chemical form.
Flywheel is an electromechanical ESS that stores and delivers
kinetic energy when it is needed. Flywheel is composed of an
electrical machine driving a rotating mass, so called rotor,
spinning at a high speed. The amount of energy that can be
stored or delivered depends on the inertia and speed of the
rotating mass. During the charging process, the electrical
machine acts as a motor and speeds up the rotor increasing the
kinetic energy of the flywheel system. During the discharging
process, the rotational speed of the rotor decreases releasing its
stored energy through the electrical machine, which acts as a
generator. The electrical machine is coupled to a variable
frequency power converter. To reduce friction losses, flywheels
use magnetic bearing, and to reduce air friction losses, the rotor
is contained in a vacuum chamber [18]-[21]. However,
Flywheel systems present some drawbacks, such as very high
self-discharge current, risk of explosion in case of failure, high
weight and cost.
Super capacitor is a type of electrochemical capacitors
consisting of two porous electrodes immersed in an electrolyte
solution. By applying voltage across the two electrodes, the
electrolyte solution is polarized. Consequently, two thin layers
of capacitive storage are created near each electrode. There is
no chemical reaction, and the energy is stored electrostatically.
Because of the porous electrode structure, the overall surface reversible energy conduction. The basic diagram of the same is
area of the electrode is considerably large. Therefore, the shown as under:
capacitance per unit volume of this type of capacitor is greater
Rectification
than the conventional capacitors [22]- [24]. The electrical
characteristics of super capacitors highly depend on the
selection of the electrolyte and electrode materials [25]. Super
Uncontrolled Rectifier
capacitors have several advantages, such as high energy Traction Transformer

+
efficiency (~95%), large charge/discharge current capacity,
long lifecycle, high power density and low heating losses [26]-

-
[28]. However, the maximum operating voltage of ultra-
capacitors is very low and they suffer from high leakage
current. Because of these two drawbacks, they cannot hold

+
energy for a long time [25]. Due to critical and complex control
nature of ESS and stringent time requirement for charging/Dis-

Third Rail
-
charging its application is confined to one particular domain.

D. Reversible Sub-Station Inverter

A reversible substation, also known as bidirectional or inverting

+
substation, provides a path through an inverter for regenerative
braking energy to feed back to the upstream AC grid, to be

-
consumed by other electric AC equipment in the substation,
such as escalators, lighting systems, etc. Inverter Transformer

Uncontrolled Rectifier Recuperation

HV Transformer
HV
Supply DC
DC Network
AC
Fig. 3 Hybrid DC Traction Power Supply System

A diode rectifier can also be combined with a PWM converter

DC
to provide a reverse path for the energy. PWM converters have
the advantage of working at unity power factor, and the
disadvantage of high cost and high switching losses. In
AC
addition, to reduce the harmonics level and avoid current
Inverter
circulation, a DC filter needs to be added at the output of the
Fig. 2 Basic Overview of Reversible Sub-Station converter.

This energy can also feed back to the main grid based on the
legislations and rules of the electricity distribution network.
Reversible substations must maintain an acceptable power
quality level for the power fed back to the grid by minimizing
the harmonics level [29]. Even though reversible substations are
designed to have the ability to feed regenerative braking energy
back to the upstream network, if maximum regenerative energy
recuperation is targeted, priority should be given to the energy
exchange between trains on the DC side of the power network.
There are two common ways to provide a reverse path for the
energy: 1) using a DC/AC converter in combination with a
diode rectifier; and 2) using a reversible thyristor/IGBT-
controlled rectifier (RTCR). Both the schemes are discussed in
B. IGBT based Reversible Sub-Station.
In this Method, the Single IGBT based converter will act as the
rectifier as well as inverter. In forward conduction mode, the
IGBT will act as the controlled rectifier and provide DC supply
to the Rail. During reverse conduction mode, the converter will
act as the inverter to feed surplus energy to AC grid. Due to
single converter use, the total losses are comparatively less than
the other system. Major disadvantage of this solution is reduced
reliability and full dependency on Single Point of Failure. The
Block diagram of the system is as under:
Rectification

following section in detailed manner. Controlled Converter

MV Transformer
Filter
+

III. Type of Reversible Sub-Stations

-

A. DC/AC converter in parallel with Uncontrolled Rectifier

Third Rail

In this approach, the DC/AC converter can be either a pulse Recuperation

width modulation (PWM) converter, or thyristor line

commutated inverter (TCI). It is worth mentioning that in the
first approach, the existing diode rectifier and transformer can
be kept, and some additional equipment needs to be added for
Fig. 4 IGBT based DC Traction System
C. Reversible Thyristor Controlled Rectifier (RTCR)
In RCTR, the diode rectifiers need to be replaced with RTCRs
and the rectifier transformers need to be changed, which makes
this approach more expensive and complex. However, RTCRs Siemens- Oslo, 750V Inverter, B6
have advantages, such as voltage regulation and fault current Sitras TCI Singapore thyristor bridge,
limitation. A TCI is an anti-parallel thyristor controlled rectifier autotransformer
(TCR) connected backward to provide a path for transferring Zugspitze, 1500V in parallel with
energy from the DC side to the AC one. This technology has Germany a diode rectifier
been used in an Alstom reversible substation setup called
HESOP (Harmonic and Energy Saving Optimizer). The rated Ingeber- Bilbao - 1500V Inverter in
current of the TCI is half of that of the forward TCR, which Ingteam Spain parallel with
reduces its cost. To use a TCI with an existing circuit, an auto existing
transformer and a DC reactor should be used to increase the AC Malaga - 3000V rectifier and
voltage, and limit circulating currents between the TCI and the Spain transformer
diode rectifier. To minimize AC harmonics, a 12 pulse system
has been proposed. The block diagram is shown as under: Bielefeld-
Supply
Germany 750V
HV
Metro
Brussels. 750V
HV Transformer

Advantages and Disadvantages of Reversible Sub-Station is

distinguishing in the following table.

Table 2: RSS comparison

Advantage Disadvantage
Provides possibility for Expensive and Complex
AC selling electricity to the main control
Rectification

Breaker
grid
Recuperation

Auto Can be used by all vehicles Analysis is needed for

Transformer
running on the line. choosing the right location.
Uncontrolled Rectifier

Maintenance and repair do Time requires for becoming

Inverter

AC

not impact train operation. familiar with system.

AC
DC

DC

Lower safety constraints. High Repairing cost.

IV. Economic Merits of Regenerative

Braking
DC Network

In this section, the case study of Wudaokou station of Metro

line 13 of Beijing Metro is reproduced [30]. In this table, trains
will be arriving at the station every 6-7 min. between 5:19 and
6:20h. In weekends the interval time is somewhat large than
weekdays.
Fig. 5 HESOP Reversible System
Example of Reversible Substation System implementation are
Table 2: Train Time during weekend and weekday [30]
described in the following table.
The Train Interval Time for Metro Line 13 at Wudaokou
Table 1: Example of RSS
Station
Company Location Voltage Technology
Weekdays (Monday-Friday)
Alstom Paris Thyristor
S.N. Blocks of train arrival Interval time between
(HESOP) Tramway 750V rectifier bridge
times to the train station train arrivals to the
associated with
station (min.)
Utrecht– an IGBT
1 5:19-6:20 6-7
Zwolle converter
2 6:20-7:20 4-5
London 3 7:20-9:00 3
1500V 4 9:00-11:50 4-6
Milan 5 11:50-15:30 7-8
Metro 6 15:30-16:50 4-6
7 16:50-19:30 3.5
8 19:30-20:40 5-7
 9 20:40-23:26 8-10
Weekends (Saturday-Sunday)
1 5:19-6:20 10
6:20-7:20 7-9
7:20-9:00 5.5
9:00-11:50 7-9
11:50-15:30 10-11.5
15:30-16:50 7-9
16:50-19:30 6.5
19:30-20:40 7-9
20:40-23:26 10-13
The interval time depends on the time of the day and the day of
the week. An average interval time on weekday is 5.2 min.
accordingly, 420 Trains pass through the Wudaokou station
with a daily regenerative braking energy of 420 x 16.53 (i.e.
total regenerative energy of one train at each stop) = 6942.6
kWh. For Weekends, the average train interval time is 8.3 min.
and accordingly, the number of train is 262. The total
regenerative braking energy is 262x16.53= 4330.86 kWh. The
monthly (including four weeks + two weekdays) regenerating
braking energy is (6942.6x5 + 4330.86x2) x 4 + 6942.6x2 =
187,384.08 kWh. The annual energy saving is 187,384.08 x 12
= 2,248,608.96 kWh. If the electricity charge is around US $
0.1/KWh (i.e. around INR 7), the annual saving at Wudaokou
station is around US $ 0.225 million. The annual savings for the
16 station along the metro line 13 is US $ 0.225 x 16 = 3.6
Million annually.
V. Conclusion
In this paper, a comprehensive review on different methods and
technologies the can be used for regenerative braking energy
recovery has been presented. Three main solutions have been
used worldwide including train timetable optimization, energy
storage system, and reversible substations. Each application has
its own pros and cons and can be implemented in different rail
systems with different characteristics. This paper also discusses
the case study of Beijing Metro line 13 for economic merits of
Regenerative Braking.
Among the three proposed method, Reversible Sub-System
(RSS) is widely used in the Metro system due to its reliability
and several advantage among other. Studies show that up to 13%
of the consumed energy by a vehicle can feed back to the main
grid using this method. In order to make an optimal decision,
before implementing any of the proposed solutions in an electric
rail system, they have to be thoroughly analyzed.
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