The Impact of Track Elevations for DC Third Rail System in Malaysia

Energy efficiency of electric railway system can be affected by different parameters. The focus of this study is to explore the impact of track elevations on the DC third rail system in Malaysia. A simulation model was used to analyze the electrical behavior of the electric railway system under various track elevation scenarios. An electricity power supply network was constructed based on the parameters of Malaysia’s electric railway system by using ETAP-eTraX software. The results indicate that the energy consumption for elevation of +10% is 1931.2kWh higher than that of the elevation of -10%. While the difference of power consumption of one train traveling at elevation of +10% and -10% is 1.25% and 3.5% during acceleration and deceleration phases respectively. Overall, these findings suggest that track elevation is an important factor to consider when designing and operating electric railway systems in Malaysia, and that efforts to minimize elevation changes can lead to significant energy savings.