Electromagnetic Compatibility of the Railway System. Interactions between Subsystems and Case Studies

After describing the railway system in the first article, recalling a few principles of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and presenting the standards applicable to the railway sector, this second article deals with the interactions between the component subsystems. This article does not deal with EMC issues internal to each of the subsystems, which fall within the more "traditional" field of industrial EMC. These subjects are covered in numerous other articles in Techniques de l'Ingénieur and specialized books...

In this particular context, traction equipment is often considered the main troublemaker or "aggressor". Weak-current equipment is generally assimilated to the notion of "victims". But other "attack" scenarios exist, and the railway system can also be exposed to disturbances from the outside world. Similarly, rolling stock can also be a "victim", so this second article presents a number of scenarios representing the various possible interactions, to illustrate the principles introduced in the first article [TRP 3 013] . Each of the sub-systems can, in turn, be positioned as either disrupter or disrupted. Resolving the cases encountered requires sharing the knowledge of each subsystem, and also close collaboration between the players involved in order to maintain, or in extreme cases re-establish, electromagnetic compatibility within the railway system, and even with its environment... Controlling the interfaces between sub-systems is therefore vital to the quality of railway operations. Technological and regulatory developments are discussed at the end of this second article.