Method and device for power control of a railway motor vehicle

The power control procedure for the electrical motor of a railway vehicle deriving power from a catenary cable uses measurement of the open voltage (Vcat0), evaluated at the sub-station. From this the maximum available power for a catenary cable section is determined, and the power taken by the engine is limited to lie within this permitted maximum. The procedure for controlling the power required by the engine of a railway vehicle operates with current collectors co-operating with a catenary cable supplied with direct current by sub-stations distributed along the railway route. It includes measuring the catenary voltage (Vcat) at the engine level, and measuring the catenary current (Icat) at the engine level. The open voltage (Vcat0) is evaluated at the sub-stations supplying the catenary cable to which the engine is connected, and the maximum power available at the catenary cable is determined by the relation Pmax = (Vcat0)2 / 4asteriskR, where R is the resistance of the cable. The power requested by the motor is the limited to a limit value (Plim) which is less than or equal to the calculated maximum power.