Technical trends of railway traction in the world

This paper summarizes recent trends of electric traction technologies based on power electronics. Continuous electric power collection played a substantial role in rapid growth of commercial service of electric railways in the early 20^th century. AC traction as an achievement of power electronics after 1980's contributes to the present efficient high-speed mass transportation service. Regenerative brakes and consequent power management using power converters and electric energy storages enhance ecological advantages of rail-guided transportation.