Research on the operational properties of the new generation of railway carbon contact strips designated for pantographs. Part I

The system of supplying railway traction vehicles with electricity is carried out through direct contact of the contact wires with contact strips of the pantograph of the locomotive. Since 2011 in Poland, in accordance with the interoperability specification of the TSI LOC & PAS, the previously used copper contact strips have been prohibited and the use of carbon contact strips has been forced. Due to the lack of domestic solutions dedicated to railway contact lines powered with DC 3 kV, foreign solutions were adopted. In order for the contact strips to be used in Polish railway lines managed by PKP PLK S.A, they must meet a number of requirements regarding their operational properties. The first part of the article presents research on the new generation of carbon contact strips manufactured by Carbo-Graf in accordance with EN 50405:2006, which is specified in TSI LOC & PAS.