Global Railway Power Supply System Inspection and Monitoring Market Research Report

In the current construction of electrified railways, electrical maintenance of traction substations is one of the important tasks in the normal operation process, and it is the main measure to ensure the normal power supply of the contact network and improve the power supply quality. The traction power supply system generally adopts industrial frequency, single-phase AC, and the rated voltage of the contact network is 25KV. The schematic diagram of the traction power supply system used by conventional and high-speed railways is the same, which can be simplified as: traction substation (power supply)-contact network (transmission line)-contact network (transmission line)-electric locomotive (load)-return equipment (rails, earth and return lines, etc.)-traction substation (power supply) circuit.

Traction power supply equipment is an important guarantee for the smooth and safe operation of the railway. Once an equipment failure occurs, it will have a huge impact on the normal operation of the railway. Traction power supply equipment is placed in an open-air environment, so it is easily affected by external environmental factors. When the equipment fails or the power supply equipment burns out, the train power supply will be terminated, and it is easy to cause a safety accident. Therefore, it is very necessary to do a good job in the maintenance of traction power supply equipment.

North America uses modern inspection systems, such as the third rail and overhead wire inspection system developed by ENSCO, which supports high-resolution images, thermal imaging and automated algorithms to ensure that the height, offset and wear parameters of the power rail and overhead wire are within safe ranges. Such systems effectively prevent operational interruptions caused by wear or failure of power supply facilities. In addition, some urban rail transit systems use data-driven intelligent monitoring platforms to promote the transition from periodic maintenance to predictive maintenance.

Europe is in a leading position in rail transit power supply inspection, and generally adopts standardization-based inspection methods, such as the IRS standard system (such as IRS 70002) adopted by Germany and France. These systems cover the entire life cycle management of the overhead wire design, construction and operation, with special emphasis on high-precision online monitoring of the overhead wire and power supply equipment. The combination of intelligent monitoring equipment with big data and digital twin technology is widely used in countries such as Germany and Switzerland to optimize the reliability of power supply systems.

In the Asia-Pacific region, China, Japan and other countries have invested heavily in the field of rail transit power supply inspection. China uses SCADA systems and 6C systems, combined with deep learning technology, to improve the inspection efficiency and accuracy of overhead wire components. Japan uses precise dynamic inspection algorithms for power rails to reduce manual intervention and achieve efficient maintenance. Australia and other countries have also gradually introduced intelligent monitoring equipment to strengthen real-time monitoring of power supply equipment and overhead lines. , but international technical cooperation can help improve the region's detection capabilities.

The infrastructure for rail transit power supply detection in Latin America is relatively backward, but in recent years, some large cities (such as Sao Paulo and Mexico City) have begun to adopt automated detection systems, mainly focusing on geometric parameter monitoring of the third rail power supply rail and overhead line status assessment. The speed of technology acceptance in Latin America is limited by economic and technical conditions, but international technical cooperation can help improve the region's detection capabilities.

Some countries in the Middle East (such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia) have introduced European and Chinese technologies in high-speed rail projects, such as overhead line monitoring systems and intelligent detection platforms for power supply equipment. Africa is still in its infancy in rail transit power supply detection, but some projects in South Africa have begun to adopt basic power supply monitoring technologies to improve the safety and reliability of equipment operation.

From different detection scenarios, rail transit power supply detection and monitoring mainly include the following aspects：

The traction substation is an important part of the power system, responsible for converting high-voltage current into low-voltage current suitable for electrified railways to meet the power needs of trains. However, due to the long-term high-load operation of traction substation equipment and the influence of environmental factors, its electrical part is prone to failure. Therefore, the electrical maintenance of traction substations is particularly important. The electrical maintenance of traction substations mainly includes regular inspections, maintenance measures, replacement of components, etc. Specific maintenance content includes equipment inspection, insulation detection, sanitation and cleaning, meter calibration, lightning protection detection, grounding fault troubleshooting and safety precautions.

As the main component of the high-speed railway traction power supply system, the contact network is an important guarantee for the high-speed and stable operation of trains. The contact network system has no spare parts, many parts, and a complex mechanical structure. Under the influence of natural conditions and train loads, its state will continue to change. In order to ensure the operation order of EMUs and improve the safety and reliability of the system, it is necessary to monitor the state of the contact network equipment with the help of detection and monitoring equipment, and timely mine useful information through defect diagnosis and analysis to provide data support for operation and maintenance, equipment management and design and construction.

The main power supply methods for subways are third rail power supply and overhead contact network power supply. Compared with the latter, third rail power supply has the advantages of low construction cost, long service life, convenient maintenance and little impact on urban landscape. The geometric position of the third rail and the running rail is related to the current receiving performance of the third rail, which directly affects the safety and efficiency of subway operation. Therefore, regular inspection and maintenance of the third rail is very necessary. At present, the detection of the third rail mainly adopts the traditional manual measurement method, which is inefficient, has large errors, and inconvenient data management. The subway third rail detection system adopts structured light image processing technology, which can improve the detection speed and accuracy and reduce the workload of manual measurement.

The traction return system of the electrified railway uses rails, earth, protection wires and comprehensive through-ground wires as the main return paths. The traction substation is the core infrastructure of the electrified railway. The return branch will be connected to the grounding network at the centralized grounding box in the traction substation. On the one hand, abnormal or faulty traction return branches will cause poor return or unreasonable distribution, which will not only easily cause local return cable overload or even burnout, but also cause rail potential rise, affecting the normal operation of communication signal equipment. On the other hand, in order to protect the safe operation of many electrical equipment including traction transformers in the station, prevent lightning strikes and protect the personal safety of operators, the electrical equipment in the traction substation will be connected to the grounding grid through grounding leads for effective grounding. Therefore, it is of great practical significance and engineering application value to carry out online monitoring of traction return and grounding performance of electrified railway traction substations.

From different measurement categories, rail transit power supply detection and monitoring mainly include the following aspects: comprehensive detection, professional detection, auxiliary detection, mounted detection, portable detection, automatic detection, etc.

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