An overhead line virtual test track for the assessment of railway catenary pantograph interaction

This paper presents the infrastructure geometry of a virtual test track for investigating the dynamic performance of train pantographs and overhead line systems with discrete features including height transitions and overlaps. This has been developed to support cascade of legacy fleets to new regions of the rail network and to better understand how legacy electrification infrastructure can support more modern fleets. The geometry is developed as an ‘obstacle course’ representative of overhead line fitted to legacy routes which have been electrified after their initial construction and is reusable across overhead line equipment types and modelling packages. A range of demonstration results are presented to illustrate application of three pantograph models. The virtual test track geometry and dynamic modelling can be used to assess the performance of catenary/pantograph combinations for overhead line geometries with discrete features and large height variations that are not currently covered by validation methods such as described in BS EN50318. The approach is applicable as a planning tool to establish safe working speeds across a range of overhead line features when full overhead line geometry is not available, or will be too costly to obtain, in the context of extending the utilisation of legacy assets.