A Practical Study of the Power Supply System of Rural Consumers Fed from Railway-Owned Electricity Networks

Power supply of nontraction consumers of electrified railways, including agricultural enterprises, is terminated when the 25/0.4-kV transformer substations feeding them are disconnected during scheduled and unforeseen railway infrastructure works. This is due to the disconnection of the third phase “C,” the transmission of which is carried out in normal mode along the rails in “two additional wires–rail” power supply systems. At the same time, the other two wires (phases) of the system may be energized. Nontraction consumers (agricultural enterprises) degrade their economic indicators due to interruptions in power supply. The purpose of the study was to increase the reliability of power supply to agricultural consumers fed from the electricity networks of railways. The authors propose connecting phase “C” through working grounding without using a rail during scheduled infrastructure works of Russian Railways. The experiment was conducted at an operating substation fed from the “two additional wires–rail” system of an alternating current railway with a rated voltage of 25 kV, using the ground as a conductor of phase “C” on the high-voltage side of the substation. During the experiment, the quality of electric energy was monitored to ensure compliance with the indicators of GOST (State Standard) 32144-2013. The results of practical studies for a complete transformer substation showed the operability of the power supply circuit for consumers using the “two additional wires–rail” system in a forced mode. This circuit provides agricultural consumers with electricity during “gaps” (track possessions) for servicing the railway infrastructure, avoiding occasional shutdowns. In further studies, it is necessary to conduct additional field experiments and study in detail all the parameters and dependences of the “two additional wires–rail” power supply system.