Advanced IEC 61850 monitoring and fault finding of railway traction power & substation automation systems

Over the past 10 years Network Rail has designed and installed electrification traction power across one of the UK's oldest main line railways, the Great Western Main Line, running between London and Cardiff. The traction system substation design incorporates full IEC 61850 functionality implemented in a design known as the Rationalised Autotransformer System (RATS). This system is the world's first wide-area traction protection scheme operating using IEC 61850 and GOOSE messaging. To achieve this, a comprehensive IEC 61850 architecture design has been developed and embedded into the wide-area protection system, creating robust system redundancy, and enabling passenger movement by a reduction of systematic traction power failure. The bespoke Substation Configuration Description (SCD) combined with the Substation Configuration Language (SCL) files have enabled Network Rail to utilise a wide-area system of traction power operation and protection. However, attention now focuses on the opportunity to create a first of its type innovation to connect the wide-area network through to a corporate computer system, to allow for advanced monitoring of data within the substation architecture, which will further enhance the understanding of how the system operates. This paper focuses on new and novel applications and challenges in providing IEC 61850-9-2 sample value data beyond the wide-area protection scheme and demonstrates how modern IEC 61850 systems can enhance monitoring and functionality, without increasing the burden on existing SCADA systems. It sets out a structure and specification for system monitoring using an IEC 61850 client to interface, with the existing complex IEC 61850 substation architecture and corporate network. The system monitoring and functionality are described, along with a detailed examination of how this new approach will lead to improved fault response, long-term performance monitoring, as well as demonstrating how IEC 61850 systems can be used to enhance overall network asset management.