Analysis of Electrified Systems and Electromagnetic Interference on the Railways

This letter deals with the research and comparative analyses of the traction power system and electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the return traction current on the railways of Ukraine, Europe, and the U.K. The spectral compositions of return traction current were evaluated experimentally. The main ideas of this letter are to determine possible EMI in the return traction current at the different traction systems of world railways and evaluate their influence on railway automatics. The following tasks were decided: comparing world power traction systems of railways and their automatics devices, estimating EMIs in the return traction current, and making conclusions for the future. The sources of external EMIs in the automatics and telecommunication circuits are very diverse: traction networks with harmonics and pulses, high-voltage power lines; lightning discharges, which have both dangerous and interfering effects under various conditions; and various industrial sources of electromagnetic fields (motors, generators, and welding units).