PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe and PGE Energetyka Kolejowa are working on an innovative system for protecting icy traction network. The two companies collaborate develop heating electrical systems with a pilot project entering the testing phase at a research site. This is another step towards revolutioning rail energy and maintaining train runs in the most extreme conditions.
Winter on the railway is one of the most important periods in the transport schedule. Due to the fluctuating weather conditions in Poland, both carriers and infrastructure managers must be prepared for various scenarios. For years, even before the temperatures drop, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe has been verifying procedures, gathering equipment and resources necessary to ensure efficient transport during winter. The most difficult moment during this period on the railway is when the temperature passes 0 degrees Celsius, when the traction network is most exposed to faults or icing. To prevent such situations, the wires of the traction network are covered with a special anti-icing agent that reduces the adhesion of ice to the wires, preventing breakdowns and disruptions in train traffic.
Last year, 2,700 km of the traction network on the main routes were secured in this way. When conditions become extreme, with heavy or prolonged freezing rain or ice storms, as was the case on 14-15 January 2025, the ice must be removed mechanically. In such difficult conditions, even the protective locomotives ordered every time do not work. This is the case happened on January 14, 2025, on the Warsaw – Gdańsk line and the Działdowo – Iłowo route, after the correct passage of train 5104 Gdynia Główna – Warszawa Zachodnia, only 7 minutes later the train 5122 Olsztyn – Łódź was dispatched, which stopped on the route due to the quickly forming ice on the traction network.
Thus the two companies are developing a completely different solution for icy traction network issue which will also help railway workers in the fight against the effects of winter weather.
PLK is planning tests of an innovative system to prevent icing of the traction network. The system changes alternating current to direct current through an appropriate converter and then sends it in a loop of cables over both tracks. In this way, the traction network safely heats up to 4-5 degrees Celsius and melts the ice. The system can be started automatically, after detecting black ice on the wires, or manually, when necessary. The system was designed by PGE Energetyka Kolejowa and has already installed it in the Kostów traction substation (Opole province). A test site for observed operation will soon be launched to test it. Then it will be possible to allow its use on railway lines managed by PLK.
The new system tested by PLK and PGE Energetyka Kolejowa could be groundbreaking and will be able to ensure that trains can continue to operate in extreme weather conditions.
PLS says that over the course of two days (on 14 and 15 January), due to very difficult weather conditions, 781 trains were delayed for a total of over 19,000 minutes (316 hours).
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