InnoTrans 2022 (22)

Wabtec exhibited at its stand the Stemmann-Technik’s Panto300 pantograph for railway vehicles with a maximum speed of 250 km/h (although the number 300 gives the impression of a different maximum speed) and with a nominal voltage rating of 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC. The operating traction current is 600 A, the maximum current is 1 000 A and the rated short-circuit current is 40 000 A.

The static contact force on the overhead line is adjustable between 60 and 120 N, the working pressure in the air drive is 4 to 10 bar. The pantograph has a weight of 135 ± 5 kg depending on the equipment and is manufactured at the FAIVELEY TRANSPORT CZECH plant in Plzeň, whereas previously it was manufactured in Schüttorf, Germany, at the headquarters of Stemmann-Technik.

The novelties presented at the pantograph were the contact strip and control electronics for monitoring the reaching of the wear limit of the carbon lining of the contact strip. In contrast to the existing pneumatic solution (ADD, Automatic Dropping Device), where a channel is created in the body of the contact strip and when it is opened due to damage or reaching the wear limit, compressed air escapes and the contact strip is lowered (making it inoperable until repairs are made), the new system is designed for maintenance planning.

When the control circuits moounted in the contact strip are interrupted, the system sends a signal to the maintenance centre or vehicle, as appropriate, that the contact strip is nearing the end of its life and should be scheduled for replacement. A pantograph with this system will therefore not be lowered itself during operation, as it is only a maintenance signal. However, even a pantograph with this innovative contact strip can be equipped with an ADD. The described solution is currently in the approval phase for railway vehicles.

The contact strip of PanTrac, Berlin (now also part of Wabtec), which was also exhibited as a separate exhibit (in the foreground of the photo), is also an innovation in the field of protection against the effects of electric arcs arising from loss of contact between the contact strip and the overhead line due to icing on the catenary. Its support profile is now completely covered with a carbon layer, which prevents its destruction due to the arc. In a test run in Sweden, a 90 % reduction in the damage to this contact strip from haze was recorded after one year.

On the right side of the photo can be seen the Type 11OSAD27 roof disconnector with new silicone insulators developed by FAIVELEY TRANSPORT CZECH in Plzeň.