Switch-point heating systems are essential for railway reliability and safety in winter, but present logistical and economic challenges in remote regions. This study presents a novel application of a hydrogen-enabled microgrid as an off-grid energy solution for powering a switch-point heating system at a rural Austrian railway station, offering an alternative to conventional grid-based electricity with a specific focus on enhancing the share of renewable energy sources. The proposed system integrates photovoltaics (PV), optional wind energy, and hydrogen storage to address the seasonal mismatch between a high energy supply in the summer and peak winter demand. Three energy supply scenarios are analysed and compared based on local conditions, technical simplicity, and economic viability. Energy flow modelling based on site-specific climate and operational data is used to determine hydrogen production rates, storage capacity requirements and system sizing. A comprehensive cost analysis of all major subsystems is conducted to assess economic viability. The study demonstrates that hydrogen is a highly effective solution for seasonal energy storage, with a PV-only configuration emerging as the most suitable option under current site conditions. Thus, it offers a replicable framework for decarbonising critical stationary railway infrastructure.

CETRA 2018 - 5th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure

Residual current operated circuit-breakers with overcurrent protection (RCBOs) prevent individuals and devices from harmful residual currents and protect the connected cables from over-currents. If the RCBO is used in explosive atmospheres, an additional enclosure is necessary to protect against dangerous explosions. To ensure safe operation and functionality, the enclosure must be thermally designed so that the temperatures of the RCBO and the surfaces of the enclosure do not exceed the specified limit. The experimental proof, that all limit temperatures are not exceeded, is expensive and time-consuming. Instead the temperature distribution can be computed using thermal models. The thermal network method (TNM) computes steady-state temperature distributions faster than other numerical methods. To thermally optimize a design of a new enclosure, individual thermal network models for the RCBO and the enclosure have been set up, verified and interconnected. Using the interconnected thermal network, several parameter studies have been conducted. By the means of the parameter studies changes for an optimized thermal design were proposed. Due to the fast computations of the TNM, the optimization process is very efficient and changes of the design could already be proposed after a few days.