Virgin Trains is now running two Pendolinos fitted with instrumented pantographs which measure the force and acceleration at the pantograph head along the direction of travel. A GPS unit provides location data.rnTwo warning levels have been set: amber for 10 to 20 G and red for acceleration over 20 times the force of gravity. Alerts and the location are recorded by the train management system and sent back to the maintenance control room. This will enable Alstom to determine where pantograph damage is occurring, with the data alsornavailable to Network Rail for OHLE maintenance. Alstom hopes that the resulting databank will improve the management of pantograph carbons, where around 50% now fail from chipping rather than normal wear. In particular, it is hoped to determine what type of impact is responsible for causing the initial chip and subsequent deterioration.
展开▼
