Germanys’ National Railway Relies on Fibre Optic Solution from Phoenix Contact
17 July 2007
Deutsche Bahn (DB) chose fibre optic technology from Phoenix Contact to network the medium voltage power distribution when building the major north/south rail link in Berlin, Germany.
In order to supply the track systems and railroad stations, an extensive medium voltage network is required. The communication network for the medium voltage supply, connecting 17 substations at the railroad station and along the rail line, is based on Fibre Optic (FO) technology, as conventional copper technology would not have covered the long distances between the substations.
Another advantage of the FO technology is its electrical isolation and complete immunity to EMI – especially when dealing with 10kV switchgears. Each of the 17 substations is equipped with a Moeller PS4-341 local control system, and the communication is based on RS485.
In using the PSI-MOS modular fibre optic system and the modular PSI-MOS-FO converters and from Phoenix Contact, the required data rate could be achieved without any problems even on long fibre optic paths, and the technical requirements of the Berlin railroad stations with regard to the safety and performance of the communication network was easily met.
