Railway VCB

It has recently been announced that the UK Government will spend £9.4bn on railways across
England and Wales, particularly on electrification projects [www://railwaytechnology.
com/news 15/01/2013]. 2,900m of new 25kV lines will be commissioned,
including the refurbishment of East Coast and West Coast Mainlines and new freight lines
running up the centre of England from Southampton. All of these lines will require new
switchgear installations.
Additionally, in November 2012 Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) - an inorganic greenhouse gas used
for high voltage circuit breakers in switchgear - was banned for all new switchgear
installations in the rail industry. SF6 has been the dominant solution for circuit breakers on
space constrained rail tracks for many years, and this ban will catalyse major change in the
industry.
EPS wish to develop a new product which will offer a solution by developing a smaller, safer
and cheaper alternative offering significant improvements over current products, which is
timely both in terms of the SF6 ban, and the major investment in new railway infrastructure,
detailed in the next section.
Our innovation will be significantly smaller and more compact than current offerings, will be
inherently safe for operators, and will operate much more efficiently thereby reduced wear
and tear on parts and requiring less maintenance.