Reliability and Lifetime Prediction for IGBT Modules in Railway Traction Chains

Electric railway traction chains (ERTCs) emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. Over the years, they have been consolidated as a better solution than their counterparts, i.e., the traction systems with generating power on board (e.g., diesel or steam-based systems). In terms of performances, ERTCs show the highest power-to-weight ratio, fastest acceleration and highest traction effort on steep gradients of the railway traction scenario. They also offer other advantages; such as: less noise, lower maintenance requirements of the traction units, and a higher rational use of energy respecting and preserving the environment (e.g., energy harvesting systems as regenerative brakes or no greenhouse gasses’ emissions). However, their drawback is the electrification line cost, which always entails an economical viability study according to a trade-off between line distance and volume traffic. When this investment is not economically profitable, the optimum solution is a hybrid approach combining generating power on board (based on fossil fuels) and electric engines.