Contact lines
Increase efficiency and reliability
Innovative solutions for rail electrification are more in demand than ever – solutions that will work seamlessly with a variety of universally usable standard components. The Sicat family, in combination with secure, corrosion-resistant, low-maintenance components, ensures maximum efficiency and reliability. As one of the world’s leading suppliers and a technology partner to all major rail operators, we offer you all the services you need for your contact-line projects from a single source – from consulting and planning to project implementation, commissioning, and worldwide service.
Contact-line systems – dynamic interaction
The success of a contact-line system is critically dependent on its dynamic interaction with the pantograph. With state-of-the-art IT systems and software tools developed in-house – like Sicat Master and Sicat Dynamic – we simulate and analyze the efficiency of the entire system in advance. Connections with reliable, corrosion-resistant, and low-maintenance components ensure the maximum efficiency of contact lines for mass transit and main-line railways.Safe contact-line systems: The system and its components
Tensioning equipment
Tensioning equipment from Siemens is suitable for multiple uses in overhead contact-line systems, including for installing headspans, terminations, supports, and cable fixings. All products are distinctive for their high corrosion resistance, long service life, and minimal maintenance effort.
Cantilevers and supports
Cantilevers and supports hold the catenary wire and contact wire in the required position over the rail and insulate the overhead contact-line system. The design of the cantilevers depends on the mechanical and electrical requirements of the overhead contact-line system.
Insulators
Insulators separate the live parts of contact lines from each other and from earth. They carry the mechanical loads coming from live systems. As a result, they must meet both electrical and mechanical requirements.
Composite insulators for overhead contact-line systems
The Sicat 8WL3068, 8WL3078- and 8WL3088-type silicone composite insulators certified according to EN 50151 insulate the live parts of the overhead contact line from one another and from earth. As a result, they must meet both electrical and mechanical requirements.
Your benefits:
- Plastic surface of the composite insulator is dirt- and water-repellent
- Low operating costs as well as resistance to breakage and vandalism, thanks to modern material compound technology
- Savings on transport, storage, and installation thanks to a significantly lower weight compared with ceramic and glass insulators
- Very high dielectric strength
- Modular design for diverse fields of application
Sicat 8WL3001-2 loop insulators for overhead contact-line systems in mass transit
Sicat 8WL3001-2 loop insulators are composite insulators certified to DIN EN 50151. They insulate the voltage-carrying parts of the overhead contact line from one another and from earth. As a result, they must meet both electrical and mechanical requirements.
Your benefits:
- Plastic surface of the composite insulator is dirt- and water-repellent and resistant to ultraviolet rays
- High mechanical and electrical strength as well as dielectric strength
- Long service life and permanent batch identification
- Shatter-proof and resistant to vandalism, thanks to the use of appropriate materials
- Flexibly usable, thanks to slender geometry, optimal thimble shape, and materials that are neutral in combination
- Safe and easy installation, thanks to silicone-coated thimble walls
Sicat 8WL4044 elastic supports up to 1.5 kV DC for overhead contact-line systems in mass transit
The elastic supports of the Sicat 8WL4044 product line are designed to provide an elastic suspension of fixed-terminated or auto-tensioned overhead contact lines with no catenary wire and are suitable for installation in low and narrow structures. They attenuate the line’s oscillations that occur during the passage of pantographs and so enable good dynamic behavior of the contact wire – similar to that of a catenary suspension system.
Your benefits:
- Easy installation, thanks to low weight, shallow profile, and simple fastening system
- Precisely adjustable working range
- Low-maintenance, thanks to corrosion-resistant materials
- Infinitely adjustable contact-wire height and stagger
- Reduced contact-wire wear and good dynamic behavior of the line thanks to an
optimized torsion element
Sicat 8WL4200 elastic supports up to 25 kV AC for overhead contact-line systems in main-line railways
The elastic supports in the Sicat 8WL4200 product line are designed to provide an elastic suspension of fixed-terminated or auto-tensioned overhead contact lines with no catenary wire and are suitable for installation in low and narrow structures. They attenuate the contact-line oscillations that occur during the passage of pantographs and so enable good dynamic behavior of the contact wire – similar to that of a catenary suspension system.
Your benefits:
- Easily adjustable to the geometry of the structure and variable fastening
- Extremely space-saving in tight spaces
- No sinking of cantilever arm into vehicle clearance gauge and no falling below minimum distance to ceiling – thanks to stops in the friction element
- Low contact-line and pantograph wear
- Long service life and extreme reliability
- Low-maintenance, thanks to the shatter-proof composite insulators and corrosion-resistant materials
Benefit from alternatives
Conductor rails/overhead conductor rails are a space-saving, extremely reliable alternative to conventional overhead contact lines, especially for small vehicle clearance envelopes in tunnels and for the equipment in stations and workshops.
Sicat SR overhead conductor rails
Urban mass transit systems like metros, light rail transit, and long-distance trains can often access inner-city areas only on railway lines that run through tunnels. This means that electric traction must also function in constricted space conditions. Thanks to its low installation height, the Sicat SR aluminum overhead conductor rail optimally meets these requirements and is also suitable for train passages with one or more pantographs. It’s designed for use in tunnels, under bridges, on lifting bridges, and in maintenance workshops. It can also be used in contact line sections that can be pivoted out of the line gauge (for example, for simple vehicle inspections in workshops).
Your benefits:
- Rigid aluminum section with four longitudinal guiding edges for the best possible connection of conductor-rail joints
- High current-carrying capacity and high short-circuit strength
- Long-lasting extruded sections, even for the conductor rail fittings
Sicat SRD retractable overhead conductor rail for depots
The Sicat SRD retractable overhead conductor rail for depots provides electrically powered rail vehicles with the necessary operating current for entering and leaving the depot as well as for electrical testing. During maintenance work, the overhead conductor rail can be pivoted to one side and earthed, thereby ensuring simple and safe access to the vehicles. This considerably simplifies the procedures for roof-level maintenance work, the lifting of the train with lifting cylinders and any crane work in the clearance of the retractable overhead conductor rail.
Your benefits:
- Release for start of maintenance work based on the five safety rules
- Visual and audible signalling of pivoting operation
- Control of the overhead conductor rail functions by means of a local control panel located alongside the maintenance track, as well as from the central control cabinet
- Soft start and stop of pivoting process due to integrated converter on the motor-gear unit
Sicat 8WL5070, 8WL8071, and 8WL5078 tension wheel assemblies for overhead contact-line systems
Tension wheel assemblies in the Sicat 8WL5070, 8WL5071, and 8WL5078 product lines automatically and flexibly tension contact and/or catenary wires in mass transit and main line railways. They are part of the tension wheel equipment and maintain the contact wire or catenary wire at a specified constant tensile force – regardless of temperature-dependent variations in wire length.
Your benefits:
- Low life-cycle costs, thanks to maintenance-free bush bearing and corrosion resistant materials
- Extreme durability, thanks to symmetric groove-guided wire run and uniform load
- Flexibly usable, thanks to a variety of versions with different mechanical advantage reduction ratios
- Potential to minimize secondary damage in the event of contact or catenary wire breakage, thanks to the patent-protected design of the latching device for the tension wheel assembly
Sicat 8WL5545 lightweight section insulators for overhead contact-line systems
The lightweight section insulators in the Sicat 8WL5545 product line serve to separate overhead contact-line systems into individual switch and feeder sections accessible by pantographs and therefore electrically insulate these sections from each another. They are used in overhead contact-line systems in mass -transit and main-line railways.
Your benefits:
- Universally applicable with many national and international contact wire types
- Versions for one or two contact wires
- Easy installation, thanks to low weight and simple geometric design
- Long service life, thanks to excellent arc extinguishing capability
- Low life cycle costs, thanks to corrosion resistant materials
- Optimal running behavior of pantograph, thanks to effective adjusting device
Sicat 8WL5545-4D/4F neutral sections for overhead contact-line systems in main-line railways
When installed in pairs, the Sicat 8WL5545-4D/4F-type neutral sections serve as phase separation sections or as shortened neutral sections. They are mainly used in overhead contact line systems in main-line railways.
Your benefits:
- Universally applicable with many contact wire types
- Easy installation, thanks to their low weight and optimized construction
- Long service life, thanks to excellent arc extinguishing capability
- Low life cycle costs, thanks to corrosion resistant materials
Sicat 8WL6134 disconnectors up to 3 kV DC for overhead contact-line systems
The disconnectors in the Sicat 8WL6134 product line are outdoor switching devices for fixed installations of DC railways. They are used to for feeding, disconnecting or connecting track sections, and to connect parallel contact lines. They meet the requirements for a visible isolating distance according to EN 50123-1.
Your benefits:
- Low-maintenance, thanks to grease-free set of contacts featuring silver-graphite coating with self-lubricating characteristics (depending on version)
- Higher current load capacity and environmental resistance, thanks to silver-plated contacts (depending on version)
- Maximum dielectric strength, thanks to creepage distances and clearances in air
- Long service life, thanks to the corrosion resistant materials and dirt- and water-repellent surfaces of the composite insulators
- Easy to install and resistant to vandalism, thanks to shatter-proof composite insulators
Sicat 8WL6144 disconnectors up to 25 kV AC for overhead contact-line systems
The disconnectors of the Sicat 8WL6144 product line are outdoor switchgear for fixed installations of AC railways with single-phase systems and autotransformer systems. The open disconnectors meet the requirements for a visible isolating distance.
Your benefits:
- Low-maintenance, thanks to grease-free set of contacts featuring silver-graphite coating with self-lubricating characteristics
- Long service life, thanks to the corrosion-resistant materials and dirt- and water-repellent surfaces of the composite insulators
- Quick and easy installation, thanks to low weight and insensitive insulator shields
- Easy to install and resistant to vandalism, thanks to shatter-proof composite insulators
- Thanks to their modular design, suitable as disconnectors with or without an earth contact in single-phase AC systems and autotransformer systems
Sicat 8WL6243, 8WL6244, 8WL6253, and 8WL6254 electromechanically operated mechanisms for overhead contact-line systems
Sicat 8WL6243, 8WL6244, 8WL6253, and 8WL6254 electromechanically operated mechanisms are designed to operate disconnectors and earthing switches for overhead contact line systems in mass transit and main-line railways.
Your benefits:
- Reliable and low-maintenance, thanks to robust mechanical gear system
- Increased safety, thanks to mechanical locking of the end positions
- Highest actuating force at the end positions, thanks to the optimal force-travel characteristic of the reversing Geneva gear
- Compact casing design enables installation in profile poles
- Electrical remote-controlled and manual local operation of operated mechanism and, depending on version, local electrical operation possible
- Long service life, thanks to corrosion resistant materials
Sicat CMS catenary monitoring system for overhead contact-line systems
The Sicat CMS contactless catenary monitoring system continuously monitors the tensile forces in the contact and catenary wires and acquires and evaluates the sensor information. The filtered sensor information is transmitted to the control center via the system infrastructure. The status of the overhead contact line and the location of selected damage can be detected quickly and precisely, thereby increasing the availability of the system.
Your benefits:
- No influence on the tension wheel equipment and no wear, thanks to contactless measurement
- Reliable fault detection with location indication, thanks to the continuous measurement of the inclination (and, indirectly, of the tensile force) of the swing lever
- All tension wheel equipment with weight sets can also be retrofitted in existing installations
- Low space and maintenance requirements
- No flood of data – instead, event-driven alarms and fault messages, thanks to filtering of measured values
Sicat DMS disconnector monitoring system for overhead contact-line systems
The Sicat DMS disconnector monitoring system is designed to reliably detect and indicate the position of the switch in overhead contact line systems.
The position indication is generated by detecting the position of the moving contact of the main contact or of the earth contact, by means of a rotary encoder and an opto-mechanical position indicator. This is communicated through the system infrastructure to the control station.
Your benefits:
- Monitoring directly on disconnectors, which rules out indication errors due to
– Disconnector failure
– Linkage failure
– Destruction of linkage due to vandalism
– Drive mechanism failure - Low space requirement
- Long service life, thanks to simple design and robust and environment resistant materials
Contact
Increase efficiency and reliability – with contact-line systems from Siemens
As one of the world’s leading suppliers and a technology partner to all major rail operators, we offer you all the services for your contact line projects from a single source – from consulting and planning to project implementation, commissioning, and worldwide service.
