Renovation of medium capacity transit system traction electronics at Taipei rapid transit system

In this paper we present the Taipei rapid transit system program to replace the original DC motor drive of the medium capacity transit system(MCTS) trains with modern IGBT circuitry. The MCTS fleet employed traction power circuit designed in 1980's, which soon suffered from high failure rate long before midlife overhaul. With modern power electronics technology we replace the cumbersome drive circuitry for current-controlled transistors by simple and straightforward gate drive circuit for voltage-controlled IGBTs. Also the large number of discrete components found in the original board is now replaced by modules and ICs, improving service reliability and life expectancy.