Alstom APS
{{short description|Alternative method of third rail electrical pick-up for street trams}}
Image:Bordeaux-tram-aps-near-Roustaing.jpg
Image:Bordeaux-aps+isolation&joint.jpg
Alstom APS, also known as Alimentation par Sol or Alimentation Par le Sol (which literally means "feeding via the ground"), is a form of ground-level power supply for street trams and, potentially, other vehicles. APS was developed by Innorail, a subsidiary of Spie Enertrans, but was sold to Alstom when Spie was acquired by Amec. It was originally created for the Bordeaux tramway, which began construction in 2000 and opened in 2003.{{cite news|title=Third-rail trams across the Garonne|work=Railway Gazette International|date=2004-02-01|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/third-rail-trams-across-the-garonne.html|accessdate=2008-05-02|archive-date=2010-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426115224/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/third-rail-trams-across-the-garonne.html|url-status=dead}} From 2011, the technology has been used in a number of other cities around the world.
APS is used, primarily for aesthetic reasons, as an alternative to overhead lines. As such, it competes with other ground-level power supply systems but also with energy storage systems such as batteries. In 2015, Alstom developed a derivative of APS, Alstom SRS (Système de Recharge statique par le sol or static-based ground charging system), which can be used to recharge battery powered trams and buses while they are stationary at stops.{{cite web|url=https://www.railinsider.co.uk/2019/09/26/alstom-transfers-tram-power-supply-technology-to-buses/|title=Alstom transfers tram power supply technology to buses|work=Rail Insider|date=September 26, 2019|accessdate=November 29, 2020|archivedate=29 November 2020|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129165355/https://www.railinsider.co.uk/2019/09/26/alstom-transfers-tram-power-supply-technology-to-buses/}}
Alstom further developed the APS system for use with buses and other vehicles. The system has been tested for safety when the road is cleared by snowplows, under exposure to snow, ice, salting, and saturated brine,{{citation |url=https://proceedings-calgary2022.piarc.org/ressources/files/2/IP0063-DUPRAT-E-Full.pdf |title=Compatibility of an in-road Electric Road System with winter service operations |author=Patrick Duprat |publisher=PIARC |others=Alstom |date=February 11, 2022}} and for skid and road adherence safety for vehicles, including motorcycles. Alstom will trial its electric road system (ERS) on the public road RN205{{citation |url=https://www.atmb.com/press_release/atmb-shell-mise-en-service-station-gaz-naturel-liquefie-gnl/ |title=Les aides proposées par ATMB à ses clients légers et lourds pour la décarbonation des transports |date=June 30, 2023 |website=ATMB}} in the Rhône-Alpes region between 2024 and 2027.{{citation |url=https://trm24.fr/lancement-du-projet-de-recherche-eroadmontblanc/ |title=L'APS d'Alstom bientôt testé sur les routes |author=Jean-Philippe Pastre |website=TRM24 |date=June 30, 2023}} The system is expected to supply 500 kW of power for electric heavy trucks, as well as power for road utility vehicles and electric cars.{{citation |url=https://www.cercledestransports.fr/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-01-16-cercle_transports_ers_eroadmtboanc_duprat.pdf |title=Présentation du projet eRoadMontBlanc |date=January 16, 2024 |website=Cercle des Transports |author=Patrick Duprat}}
Technology
APS uses a third rail placed between the running rails that is divided electrically into 11 m segments that automatically switch on and off according to whether a tram is passing over them, thereby eliminating risk to other road users.{{cite web|url=https://www.alstom.com/our-solutions/infrastructure/aps-service-proven-catenary-free-tramway-operations|title=APS: Service-proven catenary-free tramway operations|publisher=Alstom|accessdate=November 29, 2020|archivedate=November 29, 2020|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129173728/https://www.alstom.com/our-solutions/infrastructure/aps-service-proven-catenary-free-tramway-operations}} Each tram has two power collection shoes, next to which are antennas that send radio signals to energise the power rail segments as the tram passes over them. At any time, two consecutive segments under the tram will be live.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
APS is different from the conduit current collection system, which was one of the first ways of supplying power to a tram system, as the latter involves burying a third and fourth rail in an underground conduit or trench between the running rails. Conduit current collection was used in historic tram systems in Washington, Manhattan, Paris, Berlin, Marseilles, Vienna, Budapest and London. It fell into disuse because overhead wires proved much less expensive and troublesome for street railways.{{cite book|last=Post|first=Robert C.|title=Urban Mass Transit: The Life Story of a Technology|url=https://archive.org/details/urbanmasstransit00post|url-access=limited|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/urbanmasstransit00post/page/n61 45]–47|isbn=978-0-313-33916-5}}
=Safety=
Unlike the track-side third rail that is used by most metro trains and some main-line railways, APS poses no danger to people or animals and so can be used in pedestrian areas and city streets. The French government reports no electrocutions or electrification accidents on any tramway in France from as early as 2003{{citation |url=https://balise.documentation.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/docs/Balise/0065/Balise-0065470/TW_Rapport%20annuel_2010_V2.pdf |title=ACCIDENTOLOGIE DES TRAMWAYS - Analyse des évènements déclarés année 2010 - évolution 2003-2010 |author=Service Technique des Remontées Mécaniques et des Transports Guidés - Division TramWays |date=November 2011}} until as recently as December 31, 2022.{{citation |url=https://www.strmtg.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/1_-_accidentologie_tramways_2020_-_strmtg.pdf |title=Accidentologie « tramways » – Données 2020 |author=Service Technique des Remontées Mécaniques et des Transports Guidés - Division TramWays |date=October 19, 2021}}{{citation |url=https://balise.documentation.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/docs/Balise/0065/Balise-0065942/Rapport_annuel_TW_2022_V1.pdf |title=Rapport annuel 2022 sur le parc, le trafic et les événements d’exploitation tramways |author=Service Technique des Remontées Mécaniques et des Transports Guidés - STRMTG |date=December 19, 2023}}
Uses
= Bordeaux =
Image:Bordeaux-aps-place-paul-doumer.jpg
Conduit current collection systems were used in the late 1800s and early 1900s in several major cities, among them Bordeaux,{{citation |url=https://oro.open.ac.uk/54876/1/690467.pdf |title=Electrifying the streets: the surface-contact controversy in give English towns 1880-1920 |author=Gerry Colley |date=November 27, 2014 |doi=10.21954/ou.ro.0000d65c}}{{Rp|44}} but they posed maintenance issues and road safety issues. The Bordeaux conduit systems remained among the last in operation until being decommissioned in 1958. For decades, conduit systems were not reintroduced because they didn't meet modern safety standards. The first ground-level power supply system developed to modern safety standards was the Ansaldo Stream, although Alstom APS was the first to be commercially implemented in 2003.{{citation |url=https://dcstreetcar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Section-D-Part-2-281-498-pagesred.pdf |title=Wire-Free Traction System Technology Review |author=J Baggs |publisher=Edinburgh Tram Network |section=5.1 Ground Level Power Supply |date=March 9, 2006}} This success led to a proliferation of commercial implementations of ground-level power supply systems.{{citation |author=John D. Swanson |url=https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/Conferences/2019/LRT/JohnSwanson.pdf |website=Transportation Research Board |title=Continued Advances in Light Rail / Streetcar Vehicle Off-Wire Technology |date=April 7, 2019}}
Construction of the new, catenary-free tramway started in February 2000. In May 2000 a contract was signed with Alstom for the supply of the tram fleet, and in October the first track was laid. Construction and testing continued through 2001 to 2003, and the first section of the tramway opened on 21 December 2003 in the presence of President Jacques Chirac, and the mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé. The newly open section, known as line A, ran from Lormont-Lauriers and La Morlette, to Mériadeck.{{cite web |url=https://www.bordeaux-metropole.fr/Grands-projets/Grands-projets-mobilite/Tramway/Phase-1-2000-2004 |title=Phase 1: 2000 - 2004 |language=fr |publisher=Bordeaux Métropole |access-date=2020-12-06 |archive-date=2020-12-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206231107/https://www.bordeaux-metropole.fr/Grands-projets/Grands-projets-mobilite/Tramway/Phase-1-2000-2004}}
= Other cities =
File:New trams operating in George street Sydney CBD - late December 2019 - 49281061742.jpg in Sydney]]
Standardization
Alstom, Elonroad, and other companies in 2020 began drafting a standard for ground-level power supply electric roads.{{citation |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5xdJMoz_WA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/I5xdJMoz_WA |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Electric Road Systems - PIARC Online Discussion |author=PIARC |date=February 17, 2021 |at=34 minutes 34 seconds (standardization), 2 hours 36 minutes 51 seconds (standardization)}}{{cbignore}}{{citation |url=http://ri.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1540005/FULLTEXT01.pdf |title=Key Messages on Electric Roads - Executive Summary from the CollERS Project |date=March 26, 2021 |accessdate=February 11, 2022 |editor=Martin G. H. Gustavsson |website=CollERS |page=6}} A working group of the French Ministry of Ecology considers rail ground-level power supply technology to be the most likely candidate for electric roads.{{citation |url=https://www.lemoniteur.fr/article/mobilite-electrique-2-5-une-fenetre-etroite-pour-brancher-les-autoroutes.2203237 |title=Sur les routes de la mobilité électrique |author=Laurent Miguet |date=April 28, 2022 |website=Le Moniteur}} The first standard for electrical equipment on board a vehicle powered by a rail electric road system (ERS), CENELEC Technical Standard 50717, has been approved in late 2022.{{citation |url=https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2020-03529 |title=PD CLC/TS 50717 Technical Requirements for Current Collectors for ground-level feeding system on road vehicles in operation |website=The British Standards Institution |year=2022 |accessdate=January 2, 2023 |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102072415/https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2020-03529}} The following standards, encompassing "full interoperability" and a "unified and interoperable solution" for ground-level power supply, are scheduled to be published by the end 2024, detailing complete "specifications for communication and power supply through conductive rails embedded in the road".{{citation |url=https://www.snv.ch/files/content/documents/News%20und%20Newslettertexte/CEN_CENELEC_BT-Dokument.pdf |title=Final draft: Standardization request to CEN-CENELEC on 'Alternative fuels infrastructure' (AFI II) |date=February 2, 2022 |publisher=European Commission |access-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408092049/https://www.snv.ch/files/content/documents/News%20und%20Newslettertexte/CEN_CENELEC_BT-Dokument.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{citation |url=https://electric-road-systems.eu/e-r-systems-wAssets/docs/publications/CollERS-2-Discussion-paper-2-Regulatory-issues.pdf |title=Regulating Electric Road Systems in Europe - How can a deployment of ERS be facilitated? |publisher=CollERS2 - Swedish German research collaboration on Electric Road Systems |author=Matts Andersson |date=July 4, 2022}}