Why the overhead wires powering NJ Transit, Amtrak trains keep breaking

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Why the overhead wires powering NJ Transit, Amtrak trains keep breaking

Updated: Jul. 14, 2023, 8:56 a.m. | Published: Jul. 13, 2023, 4:07 p.m.
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The summer heat that makes the Jersey Shore a delight made rail commuters physically, and perhaps mentally, broil last week after causing overhead wire problems that stopped trains, stranded and delayed thousands of NJ Transit and Amtrak riders.

With hot weather, thunderstorms and high winds in the forecast, the problems may be continuing. Amtrak issued a warning Thursday for riders to expect heat and weather related delays on the Northeast Corridor, the nation’s busiest rail line. What’s the cause of problems with the wires that power electric locomotives and trains and what’s the fix?

{paywall}

[Think. Again.]

1. No Paywall: https://archive.li/jJIWd

Last edited Fri Jul 14, 2023, 12:40 PM - Edit history (1)

No paywall: https://archive.li/jJIWd

[Think. Again.]

2. Another fix the article ignores might be....

...replacing the overhead lines altogether by retrofitting the trains to run off of hydrogen:

North America’s First Hydrogen-Powered Train Will Debut This Summer

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/north-america-first-hydrogen-powered-train-180981800/

The hydrogen-powered Train de Charlevoix will run a 90-minute route between ​​Parc de la Chute-Montmorency, the site of an almost 300-foot waterfall located just outside of Québec City, and Baie-Saint-Paul, a picturesque riverside town known for its art galleries and local food scene, reports the Independent’s Joanna Whitehead. Developed by the French company Alstom, the train has been in the works for a decade.

The project is a triumph for North America, though European countries beat Canada to the punch: Germany started testing the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger trains in 2018, going on to roll out a fleet in 2022. The German Coradia iLint trains, also made by Alstom, can reach speeds of 140 miles per hour. A single tank of hydrogen can last for more that 600 miles.

Germany’s trains are a “model for the rest of the world” and “a milestone on the road to climate neutrality in the transport sector,” said Stephan Weil, president of Lower Saxony, last summer, per CNN’s Julia Buckley.

The solution: Hydrogen fuel cell power for electric locomotives

From: https://blog.ballard.com/hydrogen-train

To replace diesel, the rail industry needs a zero-emission solution that can deliver the same power, range, reliability—and cost effectiveness—as legacy diesel technology. The issue is being confronted in many jurisdictions globally.

That solution is hydrogen fuel cells.

Fuel cells are low maintenance - there are no moving parts and fuel cells have plug-in modularity: powerful 200kW units can simply be swapped out when required.

Fuel cells are truly zero emission - unlike, for example, LNG. Why convert from diesel to another fossil fuel, when it’s possible to achieve full decarbonization with hydrogen?

Hydrogen refueling is quick - a fuel cell electric multiple unit passenger train can run for 18+ hours after less than 20 minutes of refueling. Compare that to many hours of downtime to recharge a battery-powered electric train.

Fuel cells’ range is longer - hydrogen fuel cell trains have a long range of up to 1000 kilometers between refueling—ten times farther than battery-powered electric trains. Centralized hydrogen refueling stations only need to be within 1000 kilometers of each other.

Fuel cell locomotives can be deployed anywhere (with no catenary) - fuel cell locomotives can easily take over the service routes of diesel locomotives. Their range is comparable and there is no need for the costly electrical infrastructure of catenary trains.

Fuel cell power can be retrofitted into existing locomotives - Ballard FCmove™ heavy-duty fuel cell modules are available in plug-in 200kW modules that are ideal for retrofitting.

This would entirely eliminate the "heat" problem in the OP article
From the OP article:

NJ Transit officials found that high temperatures contributed to the problem on the Morris & Essex lines on July 5 that resulted in 350 passengers rescued from stranded trains by South Orange firefighters and Maplewood Police.
The problem is simple, high heat causes the copper wires and support cables, called catenary, to sag, said Lazar Spasovic, civil and environmental engineering professor and Intelligent Transportation Systems (Resource Center director at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Jim Smith, a NJ Transit spokesperson, confirmed the high temperatures was a “contributing factor” to last week’s breakdowns. “Initial repairs were made, however, continued temperature fluctuations overnight caused a sag in the wire which required additional work on Friday,” he said.
When the cables sag, the train’s pantograph, the apparatus on roof that picks up the power, pushes upward onto the power line and can snap or rip it, Spasovic said. The fix is to keep the wires taut in hot weather, but allow slack when they contract in cold weather. There are several systems that do this, he said.
One solution that might not be acceptable to passengers is slower train speeds, since it causes delays, Spasovic said. The other are mechanisms to take up the slack, he said.

[stopdiggin]

4. 'taking up slack' in lines does not sound like

a terribly complicated 'fix' or adjustment. Something you could start on tomorrow? On the other hand - working on systems and facilities that are currently in service ... That is a problem. For any system.

Second comment - engineers, infrastructure, transportation systems, power grids what have you - are all going to have to (more or less immediately) integrate planning for 'extreme weather' situations into their systems - as part of the 'new normal.' It's coming. We can no longer pretend like these events are 'catching us by surprise.' (even though, in all fairness, a natural disaster is still a natural disaster. and a tornado still a tornado. but a heat wave .. ? )

[Think. Again.]

5. True, but...

...the "taking up the slack" comment downplays the actual difficulty involved in continually repairing and maintaining the centary system of overhead electrical conduits.

Further along along in the article, the cost of bringing that specific system up to par is mentioned, $1.4 Billion.

From the article:

Other solutions include horizontal “stich” lines to straighten the dips in catenary lines between the support poles, Spasovic said.
A longer-term solution is to have flexible hydraulic tensioners installed that can generate a proper tension for different air temperatures, he said.
“They need a system whose tension is air temperature dependent. It will evaluate the ambient temperature and provide a proper tension to the catenary,” Spasovic said.
The Northeast Corridor Commission recommended a $1.4 billion project to replace and repair catenary in sections of the corridor that haven’t already been upgraded.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. The overhead catenary is very old

I believe that much of that overhead wire dates back to the 1930’s, when the Pennsylvania Railroad electrified its NYC to Washington, DC mainline. Eighty plus years have passed and a lot of it has worn out, just as much of the former New Haven’s NYC to New Haven, CT wore out earlier and had to be replaced.

Of course this requires spending money on infrastructure, something the irresponsible (Banana) Republican Party is loathe to do. Ask Chris Christie. When presented with a chance to increase train capacity between New York and New Jersey because it meant raising taxes (Another Republican Party tabu).

The Republicans as a group have forgotten something every homeowner and car owner learns: if you have something, you occasionally have to shell out to fix it up.

[SheilaAnn]

6. I used to commute on that train (NY to Shore/Manasquan) and rarely did it fail. Decompression time.