Tram and trolleybus net traction energy consumption comparison

The need for energy efficient and environmentally friendly intracity transportation has now become very critical. Electric driven mass transportation systems have shown to be one of the solutions to traffic congestion and its related pollution level in most of the cities. Additionally, when compared with the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE), the electric driven mode of transport is much more efficient especially when regenerative braking is used. This paper took a step farther and compared two most common electric public transportation systems in cities. Traction energy consumption per passenger of a trolleybus was compared to that of a tram, both using regenerative braking, travelling from point A to point B, assuming the same route. For the sake of energy consumption comparison an 11.95 km route with eight (8) stations from Ubungo maziwa to Central railway station in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was chosen. With their particular specifications such as effective mass and coefficient of friction, the two vehicles were modeled and simulated using MATLAB, in such a way their acceleration, braking deceleration, maximum speed, and travelling time were all the same. Their speed profiles which were more or less the same are presented in this paper alongside their corresponding energy consumption.