The main goal of this project is the precise and timely capture of data for the calculation of energy consumption and costs for each single train running in the area of the Slovenian railway system, including foreign countries. This energy data calculation allows the exact cost allocation to the single transportation tasks on one hand and a precise forecast for new transportation jobs on the other.

The project was carried out by Genera Lynx d.o.o., a company specialized in the delivery of software systems for railway operators. The measurement itself is performed by a special electricity meter of LEM, designed for the use in railway applications. The data collection technology of GÖRLITZ transports the energy data to the central system and collects exact positioning data, aligned with the energy data, and sends it to the centre.

Technical solution
Several devices are installed in the engines of the Slovenian railway system.On the roof of the engine a GPS receiver is mounted, which delivers the absolute position of the engine, as well as direction and speed, every minute.

In the power chamber of the engine active transducers convert the 3,000 volts of the engine supply into a voltage suitable for the measurement units and the feeding current into a signal compatible with metering inputs.

A metering box holds the energy meter, type EM4T, manufactured by LEM, the intelligent data transfer device, type Skalar, manufactured by GÖRLITZ, and the necessary power supply for the equipment.

Data collection and data transfer technology
The data collection and data transfer uses Skalar GSM / GPRS from GÖRLITZ. The application extensively uses the on-board intelligence of Skalar, utilising several different technologies:

Data collection from the energy meter is performed by regular reading of the serial output of the EM4T meter by the Skalar. This task is internally scheduled and creates a readable file with energy consumption data inside the memory of the Skalar. The file contains the profile of the energy exchange with the electricity supply of the running engine, separately the received active energy (traction energy), delivered active energy (breaking energy) and reactive energy in 1 minute resolution.

The selected GPS receiver transmits it’s data (position, direction, speed) in 1 minute cycles into another serial interface of the Skalar. The Skalar collects this information every minute and creates another readable data file in it’s memory.

The Skalar connects (currently every 30 minutes) via a private access point to the GPRS network in Slovenia and sends all collected data through a VPN connection into a central FTP server at the premises of the railway. The same technology is also used, when the engine leaves the territory of the Slovenian Republic, using a roaming access to the GPRS network of a neighbourhood country.

Central data processing
The central data processing utilizes the System GEMA,R from Genera Lynx, an energy data management system, specialised for railway applications. This system includes general energy data processing for the global energy network of the Slovenian railway system as well as specialized tasks for the management of the moving assets of the railway operator.

This includes the interconnection of the complete energy data base to a standard billing system (SAP R/3) and specialized functions for graphical display of energy consumption by train or by group of trains, including online visualisation of train positions, consumption graphs and consumption tables.

The whole project is designed to meet CENELEC standard (proposal) TC9X from Working Group 11 "Energy Measurement on board trains" Draft Standard Release N.4.