Hybrid Traction Is 'a Bridge To Electrification'

摘要

In a lecture to lMechE on hybrid traction systems on November 24, Professor Rod Smith of Imperial College pointed out that hybrid diesel trains were now available, and that the Hayabusa test train developed by Brush and Hitachi (RB1326 p6) had retained 'up to about 20%' of traction energy through the use of regenerative braking.rnWhile other energy storage media such as flywheels and capacitors were available, batteries as tested on Hayabusa had a clear lead and most in-service applications today were diesel railcars operating on lightly-loaded rural routes. 'Those sort of small hybrid trains are now working in everyday reality, though not in largernnumbers, but they are operating in Japan with some success', Smith said.