ABB has won a Euro 3.6 million turnkey contract from engineering headquarters of SNCF, France's national rail company, acting for RFF (Réseau Ferré de France) and RTE (Réseau de Transport Electrique), to reinforce the electrical power infrastructure serving the railway network in the Mayenne Department of France.

The project, due for completion in mid 2003, will use ABB's advanced SVC Light^® static var compensator technology to stabilize the existing power network against the electrical disturbances caused by the passage of trains. This will improve the power quality, as well as eliminate the need for major investment in additional transmission lines.

ABB will install an SVC Light system at the existing Evron Substation, which converts the 90-kV supply from RTE to single-phase 25 kV power for RFF's overhead catenary system. SVC Light is one of the latest additions to a group of technologies commonly referred to as FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems), which increase the flexibility, stability and capacity of high-voltage transmission networks by making better use of existing infrastructure.

In addition to its ability to compensate for voltage fluctuations and unbalances as well as actively filtering harmonics, the SVC Light power electronics technology also offers the advantages of a smaller footprint, lower need for passive filters and low environmental impact.
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