Energy recovery for metro trains and suburban trains is gathering speed!

The development of a reversible substation for metro and suburban train lines continues to make progress in line with the programme defined under the auspices of the European Commission. The EC provides 50% of the project financing in the framework of the LIFE+ programme, designed to promote environmentally-responsible initiatives. A look back at the first stages of the project.

Already fully operational for tram systems, Hesop 750v is a reversible substation enabling optimisation of energy consumption from the power grid and recovery of the energy generated under braking.

In late 2012, Alstom, in conjunction with the Italian operator ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi), launched a development project on line 3 of the Milan metro network (Italy) for a 1500v station specially designed for metro and suburban train lines, particularly heavy consumers of energy.

The first stage of this project consisted in defining the technical specifications of the Hesop 1500v substation in terms of dimensions, features, environmental constraints, standardisation and interfaces.

This design stage was followed by a study phase during which operational simulation made it possible to confirm:

• the dimensions of the Hesop substation, to be installed in the Rogoredo station of metro line 3 in Milan;
• a 15% reduction in power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The next stages of the project will consist in a detailed study phase along with power and short-circuit tests which should make it possible for Hesop 1500v to be installed in Milan by the end of 2014.

Discover HESOP, the braking energy recovery solution developed by Alstom

• The Life + RE-USE Project
• Alstom is subsidized by the European Commission to develop its HESOP system for energy recovery