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SYSTRA Engineering Inc. recently completed a traction power system study for MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to determine how the railroad can upgrade the system to handle projected service increases through 2020.

The engineering firm used its RAILSIM software to create a computer simulation of the entire LIRR system, including all substations and breaker houses, conductor and running rails, positive feeder and negative cables, negative reactors, sectionalization switches and third-rail gaps. The company also simulated all of LIRR’s trains.

SYSTRA engineers and analysts used the data to identify areas in the railroad’s traction power system that need reinforcing. The company recommended that LIRR increase substation voltages, use thyristor rectifiers, replace conventional third rail with composite rail, replace conventional and composite rail with aluminum third rail, or build additional circuit breaker houses and substations.