Case Study
Increasing Rail System Performance
TE Connectivity (TE) and the French National Railway company worked together to design tailor-made dropper and a specific tool to ease the installation.
The French National Railway Company is a pioneer in the development and construction of high-speed railway lines. To help ensure the dependability of its facilities, TE and the national rail player worked together in detail to develop an innovative dropper.
The Challenge
Droppers have a fundamental role in the overall railway system performance since they are key connectors of the catenary.
The droppers used by the French National Railway were articulated at upper and lower parts, they had a good mechanical behavior but the articulations led to poor electrical performance.
To overcome this loss of electrical contact between the messenger and the contact wire, a distribution connection was installed every 200 meters (maximum).
The extra weight of the distribution connection could locally bend the contact wire which limited the speed of the train.
TE demonstrated its strength in an uncommon context. It clearly positioned itself as a key railway supplier thanks to an innovative solution.
220K
Numbers of parts already in service
1996
Year of the official approval of TE's droppers by the French railway utility
147K
Numbers of droppers that have been installed between 2014 and 2016
The Solution
The French National Railway company and TE engineering teams collaborated to develop an innovative solution to maintain high mechanical performance while preserving electrical performance.
They designed a dropper that provides two mechanical and electrical functions without any screw or bolts.
To maintain high mechanical performance, the dropper is still articulated on both the upper and lower sides. Nevertheless, a binding cable has been added at both sides to secure consistent electrical contact between the messenger and the contact wires.
The Outcome
As a worldwide pioneer in the development and construction of high-speed railway lines, the national railway company needed to safeguard the reliability and speed of its railway lines.
With decades of expertise in designing and supplying products for demanding rail applications, TE worked on developing, testing, and manufacturing this new dropper and tool.
TE's SIMEL droppers have been installed in the field for more than 20 years and continue to deliver reliable performance.
