Innovative technological solutions from Hitachi Energy will provide a pathway for Lithuanian Railways to improve services and work toward reducing its carbon footprint.
Lithuanian Rail (LTG) - the country’s national railway company - provides passenger and freight services that cover over 1800 km across Lithuania. The company operates the Vilnius—Klaipėda railway line which is one of the oldest in the country and was first built in 1870.
As one of their busiest rail lines, this route currently serves 40 percent of the national passenger load and 60 percent of the freight transportation load, connecting the capital, Vilnius, in the East, to the port city of Klaipėda on the Baltic Sea coast in the West.
Challenge
With the transport sector being the most significant contributor to CO2 emissions in the country, LTG announced a targeted strategy to increase railway electrification and contribute to the country’s effort to reduce emissions.
By electrifying the Vilnius-Klaipėda line, LTG aimed to increase electrification from its current 8 percent to 39 percent by 2030.
The line's electrification, combined with replacing diesel-powered locomotives with high-speed electric trains, would help improve the quality of services and enable fast, reliable, and sustainable transport.
The electrified line was expected to catalyze economic growth and stimulate a shift in passenger and freight traffic from road to rail, further reducing emissions.
The solution
Due to the complex nature of the project, Elecnor, a global developer of infrastructure, energy, and services, and its consortium partner Inabensa, selected Hitachi Energy to provide the technology solution to electrify LTG’s East-West line.
The supplied solution comprised the innovative Static Frequency Converter (SFC) technology seamlessly integrated with protection and control solutions, remote terminal units (RTU), and mission-critical communications from Hitachi Energy.
Unlike conventional substations, SFCs reduce the number of grid connections, extend the sections’ maximum length, and eliminate the voltage imbalance caused by feeding power from a three-phase grid into the rail network. This ensures compliance with the strict grid-code regulations of the transmission system operator, thereby reducing risk.
The solution included the RER670 protection and control devices for railway applications and the REC670 for the protection, control, measurement, and supervision of power systems. RTU560 which communicates with the supervisory and control (SCADA) systems via the IEC 61850 protocol for critical actions, were also included.
Hitachi Energy also supplied the FOX615 solution to enable mission-critical communication with the highest availability, providing integrated teleprotection functionality based on the latest GOOSE (generic object-oriented substation event)/IEC 61850 protocol.
The impact
While the significant advantage of electrification will be reduced emissions and faster rail services, the additional positive impact on the environment will be realized through reduced road traffic as more passengers and goods are expected to switch to rail.
With the resulting lower energy and maintenance costs, carriers on the Lithuanian railway network will potentially save EUR 505 million, and the socio-economic benefits of the project will exceed EUR 700 million due to lower pollution during the entire operational period. All of these factors will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by 150,000 tons a year, cutting operating costs by 40 percent, and help to achieve a greener future for the Lithuanian rail sector and the country.
As a result of this electrification project, carriers will potentially save EUR 505 million from lower energy and maintenance costs and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by 150,000 tons a year.
“Helping Lithuanian Railways, a company with a history of over 100 years, make the transition to cleaner and more efficient forms of transport ties into Hitachi
Energy’s purpose to advance a sustainable energy future for all,”
said Renatas Balke, Sales Manager, Baltics and Central Asia at Hitachi
Energy.
“The successful electrification of the East-West line will contribute to welfare and development within Lithuania and internationally by helping LTG compete for projects outside the country.”
The setting up of the first substation in Lentvaris will mark the first milestone on this journey to sustainable and greener rail services, with the electrification project expected to be completed in 24 months.
Are you ready to join the journey to sustainability?
Find out how our innovative portfolio could empower your rail services for a greener future.