Rail operators across Australia are currently developing, designing, acquiring, testing and operating battery electric rail vehicles, but up until now they have lacked a standard set of requirements for the batteries’ charging infrastructure.
Now, a new Australian standard – AS 7655 Wayside Electrical Charging Interface for Low Emissions Rolling Stock – has been developed.
AS 7655 provides a consistent set of requirements for the electrical charging interfaces between rolling stock and infrastructure equipment, as part of industry-wide decarbonisation initiatives.
To develop the standard, the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB), the accredited rail standards organisation, worked with a development group of members from rail operators, rail infrastructure managers, rolling stock suppliers and other industry experts.
Historically, much of RISSB’s work has been around harmonising existing state-based standards.
Developing this new standard has provided the opportunity for RISSB and the wider rail industry to proactively set the direction for an emerging technology, with the aim of preventing future harmonisation and interoperability issues.
RISSB hopes the standard will promote seamless integration and interoperability across different rail networks in Australia and New Zealand, reducing cost and complexity for emerging sustainability initiatives.
Sudha Niles, General Manager of Products and Innovation at RISSB, said the main objective of AS 7655 is to try and ensure that different supplier battery electric rolling stock can be charged on the same charging interface/s, thus limiting the potential for bespoke charging interfaces from each supplier.
“That way, all users of battery electric locomotives can connect to charging points across the networks.
“The scope of AS 7655 focuses solely on charging interfaces and does not cover onboard traction equipment, battery technologies, charging strategies or the infrastructure required.
“These were left open so as to not restrict a supplier’s ability to innovate novel solutions.”
Niles said that as Australia moves toward battery-operated locomotives, there is a rare opportunity to do things differently.
“The fragmented approach to charging interfaces in the early adoption in other sectors taught us valuable lessons – lack of standardisation creates confusion, delays uptake, and inflates costs.
“It’s critical that the rail industry standardise charging infrastructure early. A harmonised interface will not only ensure interoperability across fleets but will also support efficient infrastructure investment and lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability.”
