Electrical and Signaling Division announces next year's research plans, including energy optimization and high-efficiency propulsion system development
Plans to advance train control and communications and secure next-generation power supply and driverless operation technologies by 2030
The Korea Railroad Research Institute plans to improve the energy efficiency of railway power grids and vehicle propulsion systems while laying the groundwork for practical deployment of wireless-powered trams and next-generation train control and communications technologies.
The institute's Electrical and Signaling Division held a special session at the Korean Society for Railway's 2026 autumn conference at Phoenix Island in Jeju on October 30 and announced its main research plans for 2027. It outlined research directions to improve energy efficiency and operational safety, focusing on integrated railway power grid operation, advanced vehicle power conversion systems, wireless-powered trams, and next-generation train control and communications.
In railway power grids, the division plans to develop energy optimization technologies linked to battery energy storage systems (BESS) from 2027 to 2029. The core concept is coordinated energy management that aligns regenerative energy produced during train braking, station loads and solar generation at the traction power supply system level. It aims to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based forecasting and integrated control, along with a digital twin operating platform, to verify an improvement in energy consumption efficiency of at least 5%, a reduction in overhead line voltage variation of at least 20%, and a 10% reduction in electricity costs. It will also evaluate the performance of high-safety ESS for railway applications and establish test procedures and safe operating standards.
In propulsion control, the division introduced a concept for developing power conversion systems to reduce life-cycle costs (LCC). The approach would control reactive power in vehicle converters on AC-powered sections to mitigate overhead line voltage fluctuations and reduce investment requirements for ground-based compensation equipment. It also plans to develop a high-efficiency propulsion system combining synchronous reluctance motors (SynRM), which do not use rare-earth permanent magnets, with silicon carbide (SiC) inverters. Through 4-leg auxiliary power supply units and modular battery chargers, it also plans to reduce weight, handle unbalanced loads and maintain charging functions in the event of a fault.
The wireless-powered tram concept was designed to secure equipment development, an operating platform, and a foundation for demonstration and certification together. Ground-based power supply pads and onboard power pickups would supply electricity, working with batteries to reduce onboard weight and charging waits. Proposed follow-up research and development targets include 400 kW-class power transfer, an onboard battery requirement of around 50%, and 0 seconds of additional waiting time for charging. The plans include building complete vehicles and demonstration infrastructure to collect trial operation data and establishing a framework for type approval.
In train control and communications, the division identified driverless operation, train-centric autonomous operation, virtual coupling, cloud-based train control and software-defined railways (SDR) as key development directions. The concept is to link communications and control technologies, moving from systems centered on individual devices to a flexible integrated control framework.
Following planning and core research in 2026, remote operation is scheduled to be included in a strategic driverless operation research program from 2027. Reinforcement learning-based automatic train operation control and technologies for learning and sharing real-time vehicle dynamics were also presented as foundations for an integrated train control system. For communications, the plans include improving latency and service continuity and, over the longer term, using integrated communications and sensing technologies for train control.
By 2030, the Electrical and Signaling Division plans to advance, in stages, demonstrations of 3 MW-class hydrogen-electric multiple units, high-efficiency propulsion systems, next-generation power supply systems based on power semiconductors, and advanced driverless operation and train control operating technologies.
Jeong Ho-seong, head of the institute's Electrical and Signaling Division, said, “We will closely integrate power grid, propulsion control and train control technologies to improve railway energy efficiency and operational safety, and expand the field application of research results through phased demonstrations and verification.”
Original Korean article: Electric Times
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
