Power Quality in On-Board Grid of Passenger Trains

Modern electric trains are equipped with single-phase electrical sockets powered by an on-board low-voltage converter. They enable the powering of the passenger’s private electronic loads. This paper contains the results of the voltage quality assessment on eight electric trains (seven powered by the use of standard electric traction and one electric drive railbus). The assessment took into account power interruptions, frequency, rms value, distortion (THD coefficient and higher harmonics), and the amplitude of voltage fluctuations. Measurements of the calculated quality measures have been performed during scheduled train runs in four European countries: Poland, Germany, France, and Switzerland. EN 50121-3-2 and associated standards were used to evaluate power quality.