Emergency Power Sharing by Using a Self-Traction System in a Mass Rapid Transit Railway

Systemwide traction power outages in mass rapid transit systems (MRTSs) can cause trains to stop between stations, leading to service disruption and urgent passenger evacuation requirements. Onboard emergency self-traction systems (ESTSs) can mitigate this risk by enabling a stranded train to reach the nearest station at low speed. However, installing and maintaining ESTS on every train can increase implementation and lifecycle costs, motivating approaches that can ensure evacuation with partial ESTS deployment. This article introduces a power-sharing framework for ESTS in an MRTS. The primary aim is to reduce the number of ESTS units needed by facilitating power sharing between trains equipped with ESTS and those without it, while guaranteeing that all trains can safely and quickly evacuate passengers to the nearest station during a systemwide power outage. This study examines the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) Skytrain Silom Line (dark green line) in Thailand, through computer simulation parameterised by real-world line and operational data, to evaluate the viability of this concept. It analyses variables such as the quantity of trains outfitted with ESTS, the distance from the train to the station where it halted, particular train specifications and additional pertinent aspects. The results reveal that ESTS can efficiently provide backup power to equipped trains and share surplus energy with other trains within the sharing radius with a success rate of 72.41%. This underscores the viability of ESTS operations and aids in the advancement of a more sustainable and efficient MRTS, despite the inherent constraints of ESTS.