Railway applications — Fixed installations and rolling stock — Technical criteria for the coordination between electric traction power supply systems and rolling stock to achieve interoperability — Part 1: General

Scope

Specifies the technical criteria for coordinating electric traction power supply systems with rolling stock to achieve interoperability, covering power supply characteristics, coordination of protection between substations and traction units, and compatibility assessment for harmonics and dynamic effects. Part 1 sets the general requirements of the EN 50388 series and is used by infrastructure managers, railway undertakings and suppliers to demonstrate compatibility between the energy and rolling stock subsystems.

EN 50388-1 specifies the general technical criteria for coordinating electric traction power supply systems with rolling stock so that interoperability between the energy and rolling stock subsystems is achieved, covering power supply characteristics, the coordination of electrical protection between substations and traction units, and compatibility assessment for harmonics and other dynamic electrical effects. As Part 1 of the EN 50388 series, it sets the general requirements framework that the series' more detailed parts build on, addressing how a vehicle's electrical load and control behaviour must be compatible with the traction power supply network it draws current from. Infrastructure managers, railway undertakings and suppliers use it to demonstrate compatibility between the electrical characteristics of new or modified rolling stock and the traction power supply systems of the routes it will operate on, an assessment distinct from, but related to, the mechanical current-collection compatibility addressed elsewhere in the CENELEC pantograph-interface standards. The standard is currently under revision, with a draft prEN 50388-1:2026 in preparation. The 2022 edition remains the applicable reference in the meantime.