Reliability assessment of an electrified regional commuter train in greater Munich area

This feasibility study aims to find the most suitable alternative traction drive in order to replace an existing diesel-electric train. In order to achieve the environmental European targets, set for the transport sector including the railway sector, the research on green alternative trains is part of the main solutions in Germany. Several low-emission traction drives were evaluated and modeled, and their power unit components sized. These alternative solutions were compared from the point of view of the energy, power, mass, and reliability. From the GPS data available for the selected route, a model of the reference train was built in MATLAB. Especially for the reliability assessment of the different traction-drive topologies, L_z-transform methodology is used to compare the reliability of the traction system. In conclusion, the fuel cell option with the addition of a pantograph is auspicious to replace the diesel-electric train for the selected route. The reliability assessment for the fuel cell alternative results in an availability advantage of the fuel cell traction drive in comparison to the reference train.