How to save energy in trams? Medcom at the “5th Tramways – Modern Technologies Conference”

Optimizing the tram’s drive system, combined with SiC technology and an efficient energy recovery and storage system, can reduce energy consumption by up to 40%. During the 5th “Tramways – Modern Technologies” conference, we discussed how the latest solutions are already helping Polish public transport operators achieve measurable financial benefits.

The event, organized in Bydgoszcz (October 28–29) by the Polish Chamber of Railway Equipment Producers and Railway Service Providers, brought together 10 municipal transport operators interested in investing in new energy-efficient rolling stock or upgrading their existing fleets.

Where to look for the biggest savings? Three key areas

The energy efficiency of a modern tram is the result of optimizations in three main areas: the propulsion system, the auxiliary power supply system, and the energy recovery system. In each of these, SiC technology plays a key role, providing a radical increase in efficiency compared to traditional silicon modules (IGBT).

“Silicon carbide technology is now a mature and proven solution - no longer an emerging innovation, but an industry standard. Over the past seven years, since the introduction of SiC to the market, we have installed 30,000 SiC transistor modules in our devices, with a significant portion supplied to the tram market. Today, there are over 2,000 trams worldwide equipped with Medcom solutions, and more than 20% of them feature SiC-based power electronics. Already, 70% of the devices we manufacture for the public transport market use silicon carbide technology. For both manufacturers and operators, SiC’s benefits go beyond efficiency - it significantly reduces the size and weight of tram power electronics, ensures quieter operation, lowers lifecycle costs (LCC), and simplifies maintenance,” said Paweł Choduń, Vice President of Medcom, during the conference.

How Warsaw and Wrocław save Energy

One of the first examples of a comprehensive approach to designing next-generation, energy-efficient urban rail vehicles is 140N tram for Warsaw, introduced in 2021. Its average energy consumption is nearly 40% lower than that of previous-generation trams. This impressive result was achieved through a combination of SiC technology, a supercapacitor-based energy recovery system, and Medcom’s TCMS system, designed to optimize energy consumption.

SiC inverters and converters have delivered equally significant savings in the operation of the new Moderus Gamma trams in Wrocław. In comparative tests conducted by MPK Wrocław over a distance of more than 100,000 km, energy consumption was measured across four different tram series. All of them were tested in regular daily service over several weeks. For vehicles equipped with IGBT-based power electronics, the differences between generations reached 8–9%, while the latest Moderus Gamma vehicles using SiC technology demonstrated an average energy consumption reduction of as much as 30%.

Growing market share for SiC trams

Currently, Medcom is supplying SiC devices for trams in Poznań, Wrocław, and Szczecin, as well as for Belgrade, Samsun in Turkey, and Naples.