Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg

Copyright

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

MULTICONDUCTOR MODELLING AND ANALYSIS FOR A 25 KV

AC MULTIPLE RETURN CONDUCTOR AND A 2X25 KV
AUTOTRANSFORMER RAILWAYS SYSTEM
1

A. Swanson1 and S. Goh2

Mott MacDonald Ltd, The Business Centre, 377 Rivonia Boulevard, Rivonia, South Africa
2
Mott MacDonald Ltd, St Anne House, 20-26 Wellesley Road, Croydon, United Kingdom

E-mail: andrew.swanson@mottmac.com

Abstract: A 25 kV Multiple Return Conductor and a 2x25 kV Autotransformer railways

system have been modelled for time domain and frequency domain analysis. The various
traction and non-traction systems are subject to disturbances by currents or induced voltages
due to the coupling in the system. The model has been developed using existing established
transmission line theory in ATP/EMTP taking into account the effect of the tunnel. The
model demonstrates compatibility of the design with relevant standards and highlights any
design problems.
1. INTRODUCTION

In the Multiple Return Conductor (MRC) Traction

Power System the current is drawn from the conductor system and returned to the source through
the earth wires, the running rails, the earth and the
non-traction systems which are bonded to the running rails [1, 5].

In an AC underground railways system the issue

of coupling between the various traction and nontraction elements is important for electrical safety
and electromagnetic interference due to the limited
space available and intense electromagnetic fields
caused by high traction currents. The modelling of
a railways system illustrates that the designed system displays compliance with the relevant standards,
identifies critical and problematic interfaces and allows for optimisation of the design. The multiconductor transmission line model has been succesfully
applied to AC railways [13]. However, for an underground railways system the tunnel will also have
an effect on the model [4].
conductor
beam

The Autotransformer (AT) Traction Power System

has a much more complicated current distribution
than the MRC System, Figure 2 illustrates the distribution where a single train is halfway in-between
the autotransformers [1, 2, 5]. The current distribution becomes significantly more complicated when
the number of trains is increased and when there is
another tunnel connected in parallel.
In an AC system, the percentage of return current
in a conductor is dependent on the electrical parameters and the configuration of the conductors; the
lower the inductance of a conductor the greater return current it will carry. The earth wires are bonded
to the running rails every 200 to 400 m for equipotentialisation and to share the current between the
return conductors.

contact
wire

earth wire 1

earth wire 2
2 x negative
feeders (AT only)

leaky
feeder

handrail

The voltage developed on the running rails is dependent on the impedance of the system and the amount
of current leaking into the earth. The impedance of
the system is dependent on the configuration and the
number of return conductors, which can be optimised
to reduce the rail to earth voltage.

fire main
earth wire 3

rail 2

rail 1

Figure 1: Tunnel section illustrating the multiple

parallel conductors

Any parallel lineside conductor, which does not carry

any of the return current, is subjected to electromagnetic fields, which will receive an induced voltage.
The induced voltage is dependent on the strength of
the field and the length over which the conductor is
subjected to the field. The induced voltage is kept
to a minimum by directly bonding to the return conductors at one end and floating at the opposite end,
the length between each break being dependent on
the position of the conductor.

Figure 1 illustrates the multiple parallel conductors

found in a tunnel, including the traction elements
such as the conductor beam, contact wire, the earth
wires, the running rails and the negative feeders (AT
system only), as well as the non-traction elements
including the fire main, the handrail and the leaky
feeder, where the firemain and handrail would be directly bonded to the running rails forming part of
the return conductor system.
Pg. 1

Paper B-9

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

+25kV

0.5I

0.5I

0.75I

0.25I

0.25I

0.25I
I
0.5I

0V
I0

0.5I

I0

0.25I
-25kV

0.5I

0.25I

0.5I

0.25I

Figure 2: Distribution of current in an AT system

2.

ASSESSMENT

modelled as a round equivalent conductor based on

the cross-sectional area of the conductor.

The model has been analysed in the time domain to

assess the voltage under normal operating and short
circuit fault conditions for rail to earth voltages and
for induced voltages on lineside conductors.

The multiconductor models are segmented into 200

m sections to allow for the inclusion of:
the rail to earth resistance,
the non-traction earthing systems,
the bonds between the running rails, earth wires
and other non-traction systems, and
the crossbonds between parallel running tunnels.

For continuous operating conditions the permissible accessible voltage is 60 VRM S according to
BS EN 50122-1 and CCITT [68].
Under short circuit fault conditions, where the short
circuit would persist for up to 200 ms before the
protection trips due to over-current, the permissible
touch voltage is 670 VRM S for BS EN 50122-1 and
430 VRM S for CCITT [68].

3.2.

In the time domain model, the transformers (including the autotransformers) have been modelled with
an equivalent winding impedance, where the magnetising admittance and the internal capacitances
are not considered as significant. Additionally, the
saturation of the transfomer core is ignored [10, 12].

The model has been analysed in the frequency domain for identification of the natural resonances in
the system and the effects of harmonics from the
train drive on the system. Engineering Recommendation G5/4-1 considers the continuous harmonic,
sub-harmonic and interharmonic voltage up to 2.5
kHz [9]. The voltage at the feeder stations must
comply with the compatible voltage in this range,
however train drives may have a number of harmonics above 2.5 kHz and as such frequencies up to 10
kHz are considered.
3.

The winding resistance is dependent on frequency

due to the skin effect. A frequency dependent circuit,
illustrated in Figure 3, is used in the frequency domain model to account for the additional core losses
at the higher frequencies, where:
90 <

MODELLING

13 <

The models of the MRC system and the AT system

have been developed in ATP for the time domain
and the frequency domain analysis of the railways
system. The various elements of the circuit models
are described below.
3.1.

Transformer Model

V2
< 110
SRs
SRp
< 30
V2

where S is the MVA rating of the transformer and

L50 is the leakage inductance at 50 Hz [12].

Multiple Conductor Model

L50

The multiple parallel conductors are modelled in

ATP/EMTP using existing established transmission
line theory. The cable parameters supporting routine allows for calculation of the equivalent circuit
for conductors in an enclosed pipe [10, 11]. An infinitely thick enclosed pipe is the most appropriate
for modelling an underground railways system.

Rs
Rp
Figure 3: Transformer model for harmonic penetration [12]

Non circular conductors (rails/conductor beam) are

Pg. 2

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ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

3.3.

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

Train Model

tor is limited to 1 km.

Each train is assumed to be continuously drawing
268 A RMS (6.7MW) of current (at the fundamental frequency) irrespective of train speed, to obtain
the worst case analysis results. In the worst case
scenario, there are 30 trains per hour per direction.
This gives a headway of 2 minutes between adjacent
trains in each direction, with approximately 12 trains
in the section.

In the time domain analysis the train has been modelled as a resistor in series with an inductor, where
the values are related to the power drawn by the
train at 50 Hz. In the frequency domain analysis the
train has been modelled as a current source, where
the source represents the typical harmonics produced
by a train up to 10 kHz.
3.4.

Rail to Earth Resistance

4.1.

A certain amount of current will return to the source

through the earth, for this the leakage is represented
by a rail to earth resistance [1, 2]. A value of 1 .km
is considered representative of the railways system
when the earthing and bonding system is new or well
maintained.
3.5.

The twin tunnel section considered is supplied from

both ends, with feeder station 1 at 0 km, feeder station 2 at 17.2 km and a neutral section at 7 km.
Feeder station 1 is 2.5 km away from the bulk supply point and feeder station 2 is 200 m away from
the bulk supply point, each connected to the bulk
supply points through buried feeder cables.

Station/Shaft Earth Resistance

The system is designed with a fault level of 8 kA

and a transformer impedance of r = 0.1155 and
L = 10.575 mH.

Along the rail system there are a number of stations

and/or shafts each with a non-traction earthing system, which is required to be less than 1 [13]. The
earthing system is connected to the rails to provide
equipotentialisation between the traction and nontraction systems, which is particularly important at
stations, where passengers can be in contact with
both systems at the same time.
3.6.

25 kV Multiple Return Conductor System

The filter bank at feeder station 1 includes a tuned

filter at the 9th harmonic, with C = 6.25 F, L =
20 mH and R = 40 , and a damped filter at the 21st
harmonic, with C = 6 F, L = 6 mH and R = 28 .
The filter bank at feeder station 2 includes a tuned
filter at the 15th harmonic, with C = 2.25 F, L =
20 mH and R = 35 , and a damped filter at the
21th harmonic, with C = 6 F, L = 2.75 mH and
R = 28 .

Harmonic Filter Model

Filters are designed for the frequency domain model

to compensate for the harmonic voltages that are
over the permissible limits of ER G5/4-1 [9].

4.2.

The typical filter bank consists of a number of single

tuned filters, with a narrow passband, and a second
order damped filter, as a high-pass filter. The filter
bank must maintain a high impedance at 50 Hz to
prevent a large leakage current through it, however
there is a compromise between the efficiency of the
filter bank and the physical size of the filter components [8, 12].

25-0-25 kV Autotransformer System

The twin tunnel section is supplied entirely from a

single end and a full backup supply from the opposite end, with the feeder station positioned at 0 km,
autotransformer 1 at 11.2 km and autotransformer 2
at 17.2 km. The bulk supply point is 2.5 km away
from the feeder station and connected through buried
feeder cables.

4. SYSTEM PARAMETERS

The AT has a rating 2 x 7.5 MVA, each with an

impedance of r = 0.06 and L = 2.9 mH. The
bulk supply point transformers consist of 2 x 40 MVA
transformers, each with an impedance of r = 0.05
and L = 11.8 mH, where the impedance is designed
to provide a fault level of 12 kA with all the ATs
connected.

The section of the railways system considered consists of 2 parallel underground running tunnels, each
with a diameter of 6 m, for a length of 17.2 km.
Along this section there are 8 stations and 13 tunnel
ventilation (and/or evacuation) shafts. The running
rails of the two tunnels are crossbonded at these locations as well as at feeder stations, track sectioning
locations (MRC system) and autotransformer sites
(AT System). The conductor arrangement is similar
to that shown in Figure 1, where each tunnel has a
lineside conductor (leaky feeder) positioned at high
level close to the overhead traction power system.
The maximum section length of the lineside conduc-

The filter bank at the feeder station includes a tuned

filter at the 15th harmonic, with C = 5 F, L = 9
mH and R = 5 , a tuned filter at the 21st harmonic,
with C = 2 F, L = 11 mH and R = 10 , and a
damped filter at the 45th harmonic, with C = 1 F,
L = 7 mH and R = 70 . The total impedance of
the filter bank at 50 Hz is approximately 400 .
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Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

5. RESULTS
5.1.

Fault Current

15

MRC System
AT System

Normal Operating Conditions Study

The rail to earth voltages and the induced voltages

on the lineside conductor under normal operating
conditions are illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 respectively.

Current (kA)

10

Rail to Earth Voltage

50
MRC System
AT System

45
40

Voltage (Vrms)

35

0
0

30

8
10
Distance (km)

12

14

16

Figure 6: Short circuit current

25

Rail to Earth Voltage

20

300
MRC System
AT System

15
250

10
5
2

8
10
Distance (km)

12

14

16

Voltage (V)

200
0
0

18

Figure 4: Rail to earth voltage under normal operating conditions

150

100
Induced Voltage
55
MRC System
AT System

50

50

45

0
0

Voltage (Vrms)

40

8
10
Distance (km)

12

14

16

18

Figure 7: Rail to earth voltage under short circuit

conditions

35
30

Table 1: Induced voltages on the lineside conductor

under short circuit conditions

25
20
15

System
MRC FS1
MRC FS1
MRC FS2
MRC FS2
AT FS1
AT FS1
AT FS1

10
5
0

8
10
Distance (km)

12

14

16

18

Figure 5: Induced voltage under normal operating

conditions
5.2.

Short Circuit Conditions Study

The short circuit fault currents are plotted against

distance in Figure 6, where the fault occurs between
the 25 kV contact wire and the running rails. Simultaneous multiple faults are not considered due to
the short-term nature of the occurrences. The corresponding rail to earth voltages at the location of the
fault are plotted in Figure 7 and the induced voltages
on the lineside conductor are shown in table 1.

5.3.

Fault
Location
1 km
7 km
7.2 km
16.2 km
1 km
11.2 km
17.2 km

Max.
Voltage (V)
328.7
270.6
152.8
206.4
379.0
79
88

Location
1 km
1 km
14 km
17.2 km
1 km
13 km
14 km

Frequency Domain Study

The voltage at the feeder station is measured up to

10 kHz and illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, where the
fundamental frequency is not shown. The voltages
with and without filters are illustrated and compared
with the permissible compatible voltages of G5/4-1
in Figures 10 and 11.

Pg. 4

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Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

Feeder Station Voltage

Harmonic Voltages

900

1600
Feeder Station 1
Feeder Station 2

800

G5/41 Compatible Voltage

Voltage without Filter
Voltage with Filter

1400

700

1200

600
Voltage (V)

Voltage (V)

1000
500
400

800
600

300
400

200

200

100
0
0

4
5
6
Frequency (kHz)

0
0

10

Figure 8: Feeder station voltages in the MRC system

for frequency up to 10kHz

10

15

20
25
30
Harmonic Order

35

40

45

50

Figure 11: Harmonic voltages on the negative feeder

in the AT system

Feeder Station Voltage

700

the impedance of the system and as such the voltage developed on the system. The feeder station in
the AT system is required to power a greater number of trains; however due to the complex behaviour
of the AT system, where the current on the positive
and negative feeders is half the amount of current required (see Figure 2), the developed voltage remains
low.

+25 kV Feeder
25 kV Feeder
600

Voltage (V)

500

400

300

The various spikes and troughs on the plots are

caused by the presence of trains in the model, the
bonding between the running rails and earth wires,
the crossbonding between the running tunnels and
the presence of non-traction earthing systems. In
particular, the troughs occur where there is a lower
impedance, due to the bonds between the running
rails and earth wires.

200

100

0
0

4
5
6
Frequency (kHz)

10

Figure 9: Feeder station voltages in the AT system

for frequency up to 10kHz
Harmonic Voltages
1600
G5/41 Compatible Voltage
Voltage without Filter
Voltage with Filter

1400

Figure 5 illustrates that the induced voltage on the

lineside conductor is below the permissible accessible voltage level of 60 VRM S for normal operating
conditions. In the MRC system, the electromagnetic
fields are most intense closest to the feeder stations
due to the high currents; as such there are peaks of
53.5 V and 35 V induced on the section of the lineside
conductor closest to the feeder stations. The lowest
induced voltage is seen at the neutral section (7 km).

1200

Voltage (V)

1000
800
600
400

In the AT system there is a peak of 29.5 V at the

feeder station at 0 km and a peak of 47.5 V at the
AT at 11.2 km. This differs from the MRC system
as the current flows towards and through the AT
(see Figure 2). The electromagnetic fields are most
intense around the feeder station and the AT. The
complex current distribution means that a conductor
is subject to electromagnetic fields that will partially
cancel each other out over the length of a conductor.

200
0
0

10

15

20
25
30
Harmonic Order

35

40

45

50

Figure 10: Harmonic voltages at Feeder Station 2 in

the MRC system
6.

DISCUSSION

Under normal operating conditions the rail to earth

voltage, Figure 4, is below the permissible accessible
voltage level of 60 VRM S , with peaks of 46 V and
44 V occuring on the MRC system at the feeder stations at 0 km and 17.2 km respectively and a peak
of 34.5 V occuring on the AT system at the feeder
station at 0 km. The bonding of the various multiple return conductors to share the current lowers

In the MRC system, the short circuit current decreases away from the feeder station and the lowest
current is seen at the neutral section. In the AT
system, the ATs contribute to (or feed) the fault.
Figure 6 shows that dips in current occur in-between
the ATs.
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ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

Under short circuit fault conditions the rail to earth

voltage, Figure 7, is below the permissible touch voltage limits of 670 VRM S and 430 VRM S , with a higher
voltage seen in the AT system due to the higher fault
level of the system. The lowest voltages in the AT
system are at the feeder station and the ATs.

its by keeping the length of the lineside conductors

below 1 km, the length would vary depending on the
intensity of the electromagnetic field experienced by
the conductor (i.e. the position of the lineside conductor).
The frequency domain analysis has indicated that
there are natural resonances in both the railway traction power systems, and the harmonic voltages can
be brought within the specified limits by the use of
filters located at the feeder stations.

Table 1 shows that the induced voltage on the lineside conductor is below the permissible limits of 670
VRM S and 430 VRM S under short circuit fault conditions, where the length of the conductor is limited
to 1000 m. The induced voltage on the lineside conductor in the AT system is lower, which is due to the
complex current distribution in the system (see Figure 2). Over a distance, a length of conductor will
be subjected to electromagnetic fields that are in opposite directions, which will in turn induce opposite
voltages on the conductor, effectively cancelling each
other out.

REFERENCES
[1] A. Mariscotti. Distribution of the traction return current in AC and DC electric railways
systems. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 18, Oct. 2003.
[2] A. Mariscotti, P. Pozzobon, M. Vanti. Distribution of the traction return current in AT electric
railways systems. IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery, vol. 20, Jul. 2005.
[3] R. Cella, et al. Measurement of AT Electric Railway System Currents at Power-Supply
Frequency and Validation of a Multiconductor
Transmission-Line Model. IEEE Transactions
on Power Delivery, vol. 21, Jul. 2006.
[4] G. Lucca. Per unit length parameters of a multiconductor line with earth return inside a tunnel.
IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 42, Feb. 2000.
[5] R. White. AC railway electrification supply
system. The First Residential Course on Railway Electrification Infrastructure Systems, IEE ,
2003.
[6] BS EN 50122-1. Railway applications - Fixed applications - Part 1: Protective provisions relating to electrical safety and earthing. BSI, 1998.
[7] CCITT. CCITT directives concerning the protection of telecommunication lines against the
harmful effects from electric power and electrified railway lines, vol. Vol I-IX. Geneva,
Switzerland: ITU, 1989.
[8] D. Armstrong and J. Francis. Electrical Engineers Reference Book: Chapter 45 - Railways.
Newnes, 16th ed., 2003.
[9] Engineering Recommendation G5/4-1. Planning levels for harmonic voltage distortion and
the connection of non-linear equipment to transmission systems and distribution networks in
the United Kingdom. ENA, 2005.
[10] H. Dommel, et. al. EMTP Theory Book . 1986.
[11] Can/Am EMTP Users Group. ATP Rule Book .
1998.
[12] J. Arrillaga and N Watson. Power System Harmonics - Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons,
Ltd, 2003.
[13] BS 7430. Code of Practice for Earthing. BSI,
1998.

Resonances in the system are caused by the capacitance and inductance of the various elements of the
system, including the tunnel and the feeder cables.
In particular, the longer the feeder cables, the closer
the resonance is to a lower harmonic and the more
difficult it becomes to design efficient filters. Figures
8 and 9 illustrate where the resonances in the systems exist up to 10 kHz; the resonances up to 2.5kHz
can be brought to within the permissible compatible
harmonic voltage limits of ER G5/4-1 by the use of
filters at the feeder stations, as illustrated in Figures
10 and 11. Additionally, the switching frequencies of
the train drive need to be selected or filtered out on
the train so as not to excite the higher resonances of
the systems.
The skin effect is not included in the multiconductor
model and would have an additional damping effect
on the magnitude of the resonant peaks due to the
increased resistance [10, 12].
7. CONCLUSION
Two models have been developed for an AC underground railways system for the analysis of a 25 kV
multiple return conductor and a 2x25 kV autotransformer system in the time domain and frequency domain.
The results illustrated that modelling is an effective method of demonstrating that the design of a
railways system conforms to the relevant standards,
which is particularly important in an AC system,
where there is significant interference between various railway systems.
The time domain analysis has illustrated that the
rail to earth voltage is kept within the permissible
limits due to: (i) the multiple return conductor and
current sharing approach, and (ii) the AT system,
and that the induced voltage is kept within the limPg. 6

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