Cost-effectiveness of Opportunity Charging in Non-electrified Railway Lines

Abstract

This paper analyses the cost-effectiveness of deploying opportunity charging points in long-distance non-electrified railway lines, which are driven by battery-based hybrid diesel-electric railway vehicles. A study case based on a real railway line is presented, where potential locations for the charging points are proposed. With the aim of developing a comprehensive sensitivity analysis, for each combination of charging points locations the life cycle costs of different energy management strategies and lithium-ion battery technologies are also compared. Additionally, for each case the optimal size of the powertrain elements is calculated. In order to develop the proposed analysis, a methodology based on an optimization approach is presented. The obtained results demonstrate that deploying opportunity charging points along the route is a feasible solution, as long as appropriate strategies and battery technologies are used. In the best scenario, the life cycle cost of a base case without charging points can be reduced a 4.3%, and the cost of a traditional diesel-electric vehicle a 7.6%.