Keeping the world’s rail systems on track
For 100 years Saft batteries have played a vital hidden role that keeps the world’s train, metro and tram services running on time.
Even before a journey starts, Saft’s onboard batteries are hard at work, starting diesel engines and raising pantographs1.
And when the vehicle is underway they are always ready to support vital safety, communication and passenger safety functions if the main power supply is interrupted.
At the trackside, our batteries are a vital component in signaling, barrier and switching control applications. They are also deployed across the network in control rooms, telecom systems and smart centers.
No matter how extreme the conditions, from shock loads and vibration, to desert heat or the coldest Russian winter, our batteries keep running without missing a beat, year after year. So, it’s no wonder that Saft has an exceptional track record, present on over 100 rail networks worldwide, including 75 percent of all metro systems and more than half of the world’s high speed trains.
Our journey is continuing with the latest lithium-ion (Li-ion) traction batteries that enable trams to travel under their own power through city centers, with no need for overhead catenaries. Li-ion energy storage systems are also being deployed in trackside substations, where they recover braking energy that would otherwise be lost as heat and return it to the network for reuse.
1 A pantograph is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train, tram or electric bus to collect power through contact with an overhead catenary wire.