Catenary and pantograph area
The catenary and pantograph area describes the space along a track of an electric train or the lane of a trolleybus , within which fully or partially electrically conductive parts and electrical equipment must be included in a protective measure for the purpose of electrical safety.
Catenary area
This area, often simply referred to as the crack area, represents a triangle pointing upwards, the border of which is usually not crossed by a cracked overhead line . The maximum half width of the overhead contact line area is 4 m from the center of the track at the level of the upper edge of the rail and is specified in the standards. The point pointing upwards is the highest point of the overhead contact line and is the support cable for a catenary catenary, otherwise it is the contact wire. The highest point of the overhead line is determined by the railway operator. The boundary of the catenary area extends below the upper edge of the rail vertically down to the surface of the earth or on a surface of a bridge that can be walked on. In the event of post-tensioning or a fixed point, the overhead contact line area expands accordingly. An overhead contact line area is not defined for overhead conductor rails when breakage is unlikely.
Pantograph area
This area represents a rectangle, the limit of which is usually not exceeded by a live pantograph in the event of a break or derailment (ironing out, unwiring). The size of the pantograph area is determined by the railway operator.
Causes of overhead line damage
Causes for overhead contact line damage with a rupture of the contact wire, support cable or alignment cable as a result can be:
- Tree fall
- Individual traffic with unacceptably high or extended bodies
- Construction site vehicles, in particular excavators
- defective pantograph
- Material fatigue of overhead line components
literature
- Friedrich Kießling, Rainer Puschmann, Axel Schmieder: Contact lines for electric railways. 2014, ISBN 978-3-89578-407-1
Standards and guidelines
- EN 50122-1 (VDE 0115-3): 2017-10, Railway applications - Fixed installations - Electrical safety, earthing and return line - Part 1: Protective measures against electric shock
- DB guideline 997.0204, plan rail earthing, 2013-03
- VDV 507: 2019-08, construction and protective measures of electrical energy systems on lines of direct current local railways