Railroad Primer

Photovoltaic Railroad Power Installations

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Introduction

The rail industry has been a pioneer of the digital age and a leader in many technological advances,

such as sensors that can detect when wheels and tracks are about to give out from stress. Railroads

were an early adopter of technologies like RFID (radio frequency identification), which uses tags and

radio waves to track the flow of trains and cargo. Today, the industry is embracing wireless sensors

to provide better information on train movements, to improve efficiency and safety as well as to

enable PTC (positive train control) in “dark territories”. Additionally, since many run through parks

and residential areas, they are also increasingly more interested in reducing greenhouse emissions.

At the forefront of technology innovation, the railroad

industry was one of the first to adopt PV power. A railroad

operates with a simple focus—profitability + safety. Trains

must run on time and critical wayside applications must

work—safety is paramount. Inoperable gates, signals and

communication systems simply are not an option. The

industry demands a PV power system that provides high

output, is reliable, has high system autonomy and is

operationally cost-effective. Additionally, more and more

railroads are beginning to ask for wayside PV power

systems that support standards-based remote monitoring

capabilities. They want these systems to provide system

health and performance data.

The railroads adopted PV for one simple reason—the grid

and rail line locations are not in sync. The grid is neither a

convenient nor a cost-effective solution for a railroad. More

times than not, the grid it is distributed far from where a

railroad needs power; and where it the grid may be present,

a right-of-way negotiation may be required and could be

costly. These logistical and operational challenges are

something the railroads decided to forgo 40+ years ago. In

the old days, the railroad ran “signaling pole lines” for their

power and communication systems, but that proved

extremely expensive and, at times, unreliable. The pole-

lines were constructed using copper lines, which were

expensive and also prone to storm damage and theft. Over

time, they evolved their power infrastructure to the more

reliable coded-signaling systems, which used pulse line

technology. This evolution brought with it a need for remote

power at every 1-2 mile internal. This new technology and

power requirement made PV the ideal solution.