Analysis of different traction systems for the Zillertalbahn

Abstract

The narrow gauge line from Jenbach to Mayrhofen in Austria is still operated by diesel units which are close to the end of their life cycle. New trains shall realize the opportunity of decarbonized services. Therefore, various opportunities of traction and power supply have been investigated and it is a vital example based on several former studies, how the sychronous consideration of vehicles, infrastructure and operation acts gamechanging in aspects of time and costs. The scope of possible solutions is much larger than electrification of the entire infrastructure or hydrogen and battery vehicles only. In this paper a comparison of all investigated solutions is presented with their technical, commercial and time key factors. Their operational performance has been simulated by software OpenTrack to compare running times and traction energy consumption to influence the overall analysis as well as to confirm the required travel time performance of the local mobility plan (minus 18 percent) and to predicted differential life cycle costs. All these results will influence the final authority’s system decision.